Midoriko's Gift
by Serena530
Summary: After the sacred jewel is wished away Kagome is returned to her time. Devastation gives way to hope when she learns she will return to the past. However, an unexpected gift reveals the consequences of her decisions once there, and the effect, not only on her life, but on a close friends.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 _ **Part One  
**_ **Chapter One** **:** Making Adjustments

Kagome stood on the battle field with her friends and allies. Naraku was gone as well as all his incarnations. She looked down at her hand where the complete jewel of four souls sat glowing gently from her pure touch.

She looked back up to everyone. Sango and Miroku, Shippo and Kirara, Kouga, Genta, and Hakaku, Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un, and finally Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.

They had all been there to help defeat Naraku. Well, all except the children. There had simply been no safe place for them to go to without someone from the large group to watch them.

Finally it was all over, but now it was time to get rid of the jewel. She knew she couldn't wait. Waiting meant the chance for another power hungry demon to come along and take the jewel.

She looked at each of them again, seeing the exhaustion, relief, and joy on their faces as they looked at each other. But one face was not looking at the others and sharing in their silent celebration. Sesshomaru was looking at her and as she meet his eyes she could tell that he knew what she was about to do, and was waiting for her to get to it.

He nodded and she nodded in return before she raised her hand and looked at the jewel.

"I wish for Midoriko to be free." Kagome whispered.

Kagome blinked and within one moment to the next she was standing in the dark depths of the bone eaters well with an empty hand. She looked up and saw the wood of the well house roof, and her face crumbled as she realized she had been returned to her time.

She quickly climbed to the top of the well and jumped back in but nothing happened. She hit the hard packed dirt at the bottom and collapsed to her knees.

She was trapped in her time and she hadn't even been able to say goodbye. She was forever separated from her friends, her second family, the one she loved.

She buried her face in her hands and cried out her grief.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome lay in her bed dozing, trying to fall asleep completely.

It had been four days since she was returned from the past. After she had cried herself dry she made her way home and told her mother what happened then went to bed. She hadn't spoken or left her bed since.

She had no appetite and no wish to speak to anyone. She just wanted to sleep since it was her only way to escape. She just wanted to escape the pain.

She just didn't know why it had happened, why she had been torn away from the past. Why was she sent back and allowed to get to know people, make friends, and find love only to be ripped away from it? It wasn't fair!

 _How am I supposed to move on and live my life when my life is in the past? Sure I have mom, Souta, and grandpa, but they weren't there and don't know what I experienced_. She thought morosely.

Kagome had told them bits and pieces, but they had never known the full truth of what she had experienced. They would have been horrified and her mother wouldn't have let her go back. Her mother especially wouldn't have let her return if she knew the truth of how Inuyasha didn't always protect her as he was supposed to; if she had known the truth of the triangle between her, Inuyasha, and Kikyou.

Her family just couldn't understand and even if she did tell them all the gritty details now it was likely only to lead to an argument and them being glad she was locked out of the past. Something that would only make her feel worse then she already did.

She knew they would feel so strongly because they cared and wanted her safe, but this was her life. It was the life she had been living for months and had gotten used to, adapted to it, and had expected to be able to continue with it when the jewel was gone.

She just didn't know what to do. How was she supposed to get used to going to school every day, and getting along with friends she had grown distant to? How could she do it without talking to someone who understood her and knew what she had been through?

Just as she was drifting deeper into sleep she felt a heavy intense sensation cover her body then move in what felt like a soothing caress.

Her eyes snapped open and she blinked as her heart began to race. Had she just imagined that? Had she dreamed the feel of that youki?

It came again as if to tell her that it was real, and she jumped up and moved to her window. She pushed aside the curtains and saw the unmistakable figure of a tall man. He was dressed in black slacks and a dark navy blue pullover V-neck sweater, his hair was white and trailed down his back in a long pony tail.

"Sesshomaru." Kagome whispered and watched as he looked up right her as if he had heard her, which she realized he most likely did with the sensitivity of his hearing.

She couldn't believe he was there, but he was. He really was. Then she blinked and realized he was a demon and he was there, in the future, which meant others probably were as well.

She spun around and practically burst out of her room as she darted for the stairs. Her mind kept repeating names of those who could also be there. _Shippo, Kouga, Kirara,_ _Inuyasha_.

Kagome raced through the living room and opened the front door, and ran to the demon lord, unconcerned about hurting her bare feet. She stopped in front of him and stared, stared up at him. She blinked as she realized he was taller than the last time she saw him, and even then he had been tall.

"Sesshomaru." She breathed out again as tears pricked her eyes. He was there; a connection to her past.

"Miko." The demon lord said before looking her over. "You do not appear to be faring well now that you are back in your time."

Kagome flushed slightly and opened and closed her mouth a few times, speechless before the tall demon.

"How did you know I was from this time, and why are you here?" She finally asked. "Not that I'm not glad to see you." She added quickly.

"You told me I was here days after the jewel returned you, and that I had become a good friend." Sesshomaru replied, and her eyes widened.

"Really?! I really went back?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes. We became friends there as well." He answered, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can you tell me what happened to everyone?" She asked quickly. She didn't care that she would be going back and would find out these things for herself at that point. She needed to know something right now.

"I will tell you some once we are inside." Sesshomaru said as he gestured toward her house.

Once inside they settled in the living room and she listened as he informed her that Sango and Miroku had married not long after her disappearance. They had lived a good long life and had a few kids.

Kouga had mated Ayame, which was something Kagome was happy to hear. At least he wouldn't be after her when she returned. Sadly Keade had died of old age a few years after her return to the past. Happily Shippo and Rin mated, and they were still very much alive but were currently out of the country.

Kagome listened quietly and was happy that everything turned out well for her friends, but was sad that she would lose Keade after she returned. She was a bit surprised that Rin and Shippo ended up together since she thought they saw each other as brother and sister.

 _I guess things changed as they grew older_. She thought with a smile.

That information was all he told her about her friends. The only other thing he added when she asked was that he had never mated. Apparently the one he had chosen had died without ever knowing how he felt.

She was sad to hear that and wanted to ask why he had never told the person, but she felt it wasn't her business. After all, they hadn't actually built the friendship her future self had spoken of.

"So how did you find me, and what've you been doing these days?" She asked, deciding to change the subject instead of lingering on something that must be painful for him.

As she listened she realized that she was content. Sesshomaru showing up and all but telling her that she would return to the past had done wonders for her mood. He was there and they would build a friendship. A friendship that she was sure would help her get through her schooling and her time waiting to return to the past, where she belonged.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

As the years passed Kagome became good friends with Sesshomaru. He helped her with her homework when she needed it and helped her control and use her powers so she would be better prepared when she returned to the past.

It had been surprising to learn that her reiki had increased dramatically when she made her wish on the jewel. It was also nice to be able to just talk to him normally and not have to censor herself so she didn't look crazy. She had actually taken the time to tell him the events of the past from her point of view, from being pulled into the well up until she made the wish, and it had helped her heal a great deal.

She had always felt guilty for shattering the jewel and making the hunt necessary, not to mention all the lives that had been effected and ended because of the shards. He had made her understand that there was nothing to feel guilty about. It had happened for a reason; otherwise it may have fallen into the wrong hands.

Sesshomaru had also helped her sort through the mess that was the love triangle between herself, Inuyasha, and Kikyou. The older priestess was long gone and she was completely sure of her love for Inuyasha, but it didn't change the fact that Inuyasha had spent months comparing the two of them and choosing Kikyou all the time before she finally passed.

He helped her understand that Inuyasha did know the difference between the two of them even if he had never outright said it or acted like he didn't. Their scent was completely different, their personalities were completely different, and though they looked similar they still in fact looked different.

She also began to understand that just as Inuyasha was her first love Kikyou was his, and regardless of the fact that she had been dead the piece of Kagome's soul that had been animating her body was also providing her personality and memories.

His love had come back and though she was dead he still loved her, so he had to deal with his instincts pushing him back and forth between the two of them because he cared for them both.

Sesshomaru even pointed out quite firmly that she wasn't weak like Inuyasha kept saying and like she believed. He explained that her problem was that she had never been trained to use her considerable power.

Kagome knew he was right. She couldn't suddenly know what a priestess would know in a few months without training of some kind. She had done the best she could with her arrows and what seemed to come instinctively when her life was in danger.

Not to mention if she was so weak she wouldn't have been the one who could sense the jewel shards or purify them. She wouldn't have been the one who could see and sense what others couldn't.

Sesshomaru made her understand that she needed to be strong not just with her power and convictions, but with her mind as well. She needed to be so strong of mind that she would not let hurtful words affect her, because she would know herself and know the words were not true.

Beyond those things Kagome also learned that Sesshomaru was a wealthy business man and that he seemed sad. She knew that the only reason she could tell he was sad was because he allowed her to really know him and let her in otherwise she wouldn't have seen it.

He never said anything about his life in the past beyond the fact that they were friends or of her and Inuyasha. She didn't mind though. He said she had told him he had been there so she had obviously returned to the past, which meant it was possible Inuyasha and her older self were around. Maybe waiting for her to return to the past before revealing themselves to her family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 **Chapter Two** **:** A Gift for Kagome

Three years had passed and Kagome had finished and just graduated from high school. It was an exciting day. All of her family had been there, and even Sesshomaru had come to celebrate her accomplishment.

The day had been long and eventful but she was still excited since she knew she would be returning to the past soon. Sesshomaru had finally told her after the first few months that she wouldn't return until she graduated.

She couldn't wait to see her friends; to finally be with Inuyasha. In the years that had passed her feelings for him had not faded even a little. Now she just had to wait for the well to open, and all her dreams and desires would come true.

That night she readied herself for bed and slipped under her covers and waited for sleep to come, hoping tomorrow would be the day the well reopened.

As Kagome drifted off to sleep the ghostly figure of a woman appeared next to her bed. The woman had long black hair, wore traditional red and white priestess clothing, armor over her upper body that extended halfway down her thighs, and had a sword secured to her hip.

The ghostly woman looked at the sleeping young woman sadly before determination took over her features. She gently touched Kagome's head and disappeared.

Kagome opened her eyes and found herself in a foggy nondescript place. She frowned but before she could even register what she was feeling at her surroundings she began to sense someone's approach. Out of the fog appeared the unmistakable figure of Midoriko wearing red and white priestess clothes, a sword, but missing her battle armor.

She looked at the legendary priestess before her eyes drifted back to the fog surrounding them. She remembered being in her bed and going to sleep, so was she dreaming or was this something else?

"Why...why are you here?" She asked the older woman in confusion.

"I am here to give you a gift." Midoriko answered calmly. "A gift for all you have done and sacrificed for the sacred jewel, including granting my freedom. I am going to show you your life once you return to the past."

"We will be unobserved and unable to interact with those we watch. However, we will watch in such a way that you will see not only your reactions but that of those around you." She explained.

Kagome was confused by the gift but happy that she would get to see her life. She was sure this would just shore up her decision to return. It would allow her to see how happy she and Inuyasha would be.

She eagerly nodded her understanding and they looked around as the fog began to dissipate. They found themselves standing in the grass, not far from the bone eaters well, and waited.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

 _Kagome crawled out of the well, carrying nothing but the clothes on her back, wearing a royal blue sun dress that ended just above her knees, an open cream colored long sleeve sweater, and black sandals._

 _She stood up and smoothed her clothes and smiled brightly before she began to walk the familiar path toward the village._

 _Halfway there she sensed a familiar youki headed her way and her eyes lit up as she looked ahead of her expectantly. Soon a white haired red clad form appeared._

 _"Kagome!" He yelled in that familiar tone she had missed._

 _"Inuyasha!" She called back with a happy laugh._

 _Within moments she was swept up into a tight hug which she returned without a problem._

 _"I missed you." She said as she basked in Inuyasha's presence._

Midoriko and Kagome stood watching the pair. Midoriko's face bore no expression, but Kagome's showed her happiness as she stared intently at the dog half demon she loved.

He didn't look at all different from the last time she had seen him besides being clean of the blood from the battle. She wished mightily that she could feel the hug her other self was enjoying, but she reminded herself that it would soon be her in that position.

 _"I missed you too." Inuyasha said. "I'm glad you're back."_

 _"Me too." She said as they released each other._

 _"Are you staying?" He asked, and Kagome nodded happily._

 _"Yup! I've finished school so I don't have to worry about that anymore." She answered, and he nodded._

 _"Come on." Inuyasha said and they began to head toward the village. "Miroku, Sango, Keade, and the runt will be glad to see you, and I'm sure Sesshomaru's brat will as well." He added and she blinked in surprise._

 _"Rin's in the village? Is she visiting?" Kagome asked._

 _"Na. She's been living there almost since the time you disappeared." He replied._

 _"Sesshomaru just left her there?"_ Midoriko and Kagome listened as her other self asked in surprise.

 _"No. The bastard visits her often enough. Definitely more than I like." Inuyasha answered._

Fog moved in blanketing the area and obscuring the reunited couple and the surrounding area, including the sky, from their view before it thinned and showed the observers another scene of Kagome's future life.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome and Midoriko appeared on the main path through the village and watched as seemingly everyone walked toward the main building at the center of the village. They followed the stream of people and walked inside, and stood off to the side at the front of the building since the set up seemed to indicate that's where things would happen.

Kagome looked around and saw a small table at the front and wondered curiously what was about to happen. Why so many people of the village would gather together. She couldn't even guess based on the building itself since she had never been inside it in all her time coming and going through the well. She had only seen it at a glance since she was usually busy with something or someone.

She looked to Midoriko, hoping to get some answers.

"Watch." The older woman told her.

Suddenly all her friends began to enter the building and move toward the front. Sango, Miroku, their twin daughters and baby son, Shippo, Rin, and Keade were all there.

After they were situated at the front, as if on cue, Inuyasha and her future self entered the building. Inuyasha wore his usual fire rat hakama and haori, but Kagome was dressed very differently.

She wore a simple pure white kimono with a thin red obi, and a red kimono robe decorated in large yellow-white plum blossoms over it, white tabis, and sandals.

Kagome's eyes widened in happy surprise. _It's our wedding! We actually get married!_ She realized, and practically danced in place she was so happy at the discovery.

Once the couple stood in front Keade stepped in front of them, and with their friends surrounding them, began to perform the ceremony.

She performed a ritual purification, modifying it so it was just for Kagome instead of the couple so Inuyasha wouldn't get hurt, then announced their marriage to the Kami and asked for their blessing. The ceremony then ended with the couple each taking sips of sake, and everyone cheered and offered their congratulations.

Kagome grinned and spun in place in her happiness.

"I'm getting married. I'm getting married. I'm getting married." She repeated again and again in jubilation.

Midoriko stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder as she watched the happy couple.

"We still have more to see." She said.

Kagome nodded, still over flowing with happiness and followed the older priestess as they walked into the converging fog.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

When the fog cleared the pair found themselves walking out of the forest into the well clearing to see Kagome's future self and Sesshomaru talking.

Kagome was wearing the familiar red and white priestess clothes with her bow and quiver of arrows, and the demon lord was in his familiar white silk and armor.

They moved closer to the chatting pair and listened as they appeared to be talking about Rin and her growth.

"How long has it been since the wedding?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Four weeks." Midoriko answered.

 _"Rin looked so pretty and happy at the wedding." Kagome said with a smile, and Sesshomaru blinked._

 _"What wedding do you speak of? Did one of the villagers marry?" He asked._

 _"No. It was my wedding. Inuyasha and I got married. The ceremony was exactly what I wanted. Simple and beautiful." Kagome said with a smile, and Sesshomaru stared._

 _"When did this take place?" He finally asked after a few tense silent moments._

 _"A few weeks ago." She answered. "Nearly the entire village was there."_

 _"But..you are not mated." Sesshomaru said in his surprise, and she nodded._

 _"Yes I am." Kagome confirmed. "The ceremony happened and it was great. All my friends were there to witness. Well, you weren't there but I didn't think you would want to be around Inuyasha even for the short time it would take to link our lives together."_

Kagome saw the surprise on Sesshomaru's face. His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly. Both tell-tale signs of his surprise.

"Why is he surprised?" She asked her companion. "He knows I love Inuyasha."

"Because he did not know you were married." Midoriko answered. "He had not spoken to Rin since before the wedding, so she never had the chance to tell him, and by this point you had never said anything about the wedding either. Most likely because you knew that although they no longer fight the brothers still do not like one another."

"Beyond that the lord has a very sensitive nose and can tell that your marriage has not been consummated. You are still pure weeks after your marriage. It is also because you do not bare a mating mark, so despite being married the half demon did not mate you." She added.

Kagome blushed at being told, in not so many words, that they had not had sex yet at this point after the marriage. She frowned as she wondered why that would be. It was a part of marriage and she knew she would want to express her affection and love for him that way. She would also eventually want children.

She knew she wouldn't get any answers so she moved on to the other piece of information she had learned. _Mating_. She had heard it mentioned here and there occasionally during the shard hunt, and even Sango had mentioned it, but she had always thought it was just the demon term for marriage.

Now she understood that they were two separate things, and mating could only be done by demons.

 _And apparently half demons if Sesshomaru's surprise is anything to go by_. She thought with a slight frown.

Before she could open her mouth to ask what was different between a mating and a marriage the fog moved in once again. The scenery, the demon lord, and the married priestess were blocked from their view, and Kagome couldn't help wondering what she would see and learn next.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

This time when the fog cleared Kagome and Midoriko were standing in a large spacious hut off in a corner away from the gathering.

The future Kagome was sitting with Sango, Miroku, their children, and a woman dressed in priestess clothes.

Kagome frowned as she saw that her other self was wearing a simple dark blue yukata, but still had her bow and arrows. She didn't understand that.

"How long has it been this time?" She asked Midoriko quietly.

"It has been ten years since the last scene." The older woman answered.

"Why am I wearing a yukata instead of priestess robes?" Kagome asked.

"Because you are not the village priestess." Midoriko replied. "At this point Keade has passed and the young woman there is now the village priestess."

Kagome frowned at the peaceful gathering, looking more at the other her than the others. She saw her future self had longer hair, but it was pulled back in a braid down her back.

"Why...how come I'm not the village priestess?" She asked. After all, she had always thought that's how it would be if she managed to live in the past like she wanted. She would marry Inuyasha and take over as the village priestess when Keade passed.

"Inuyasha would not allow it, and you wanted to make Inuyasha happy and make sure your marriage was happy and peaceful." Midoriko answered plainly.

Kagome frowned deeper at her words. She was married to Inuyasha but wasn't mated, something she apparently should be since he was a half demon, and she wasn't the village priestess because Inuyasha wouldn't let her be for some unknown reason and she went with it because she wanted him happy.

She wasn't sure how to feel about any of these facts.

 _At least I'm still able to use my powers at this point since she still carries her bow and arrows._ She thought.

 _Suddenly a pulse of youki swept through and out the hut like a wave. Everyone with spiritual powers felt it, but only Kagome knew that it was Sesshomaru._

 _She grabbed her bow and arrows and stood and stepped from the hut as she adjusted her quiver on her back. The priestess followed her, hands shaking, and a concerned frown on her face._

 _"Did you feel that? That demon must be extremely dangerous." Myu said as she glanced around._

 _"Yes he is, but you don't need to worry. It's just the Western Lord announcing his presence instead of coming into the village." Kagome said calmly._

 _"Are you sure it is okay? He is no danger to the village?" Myu asked in concern._

 _"Yes. He's not going to attack a human village. There's no threat to him here, and it would be a waste of his time." She reassured her. "I'll go see him, and see what he wants."_

Kagome and Midoriko followed the future Kagome as she walked away from the village and on the path to the well clearing. Kagome couldn't help noticing that the other her was moving slower than she should. She was ten years older but that would put her in her late twenties. Definitely not old enough to be moving as slow as she was.

 _Maybe she's injured_. She considered as she watched her. _And if that's true then how did it happen?_

 _When Kagome reached the clearing Sesshomaru was standing near the well waiting. He looked her over as she approached then came forward and swept her up into his arms and walked over to the well and sat her on the lip._

 _"What did the half-breed do?" He asked as he knelt on the ground and gently grabbed her calf and looked at her ankle._

 _Kagome didn't say anything and Sesshomaru looked up to her. They locked eyes for a few moments, clearly having a silent conversation, before she sighed and looked away._

 _"Inuyasha pushed me a few days ago. I fell and landed awkwardly." She said reluctantly._

 _"Why would he do that?" Sesshomaru asked as he gently poked and prodded at her obviously swollen ankle._

 _"We were arguing over something and his temper just got ahold of him. You know how he is when he's upset. He gets physical." Kagome said quietly._

 _"That is no excuse." He replied just as quietly as he wrapped his hands around her ankle._

 _His youki flared around his hands, covering her ankle and foot in his red energy, and seemed to move around her skin and sink in before it came out and disappeared. He released her ankle and she wiggled and rotated it, and discovered that it no longer hurt. He had clearly healed it._

 _"Thank you." She said with a soft smile._

 _"Take care that it does not happen again." Sesshomaru said before he stood, and began to tell her how Rin and Shippo were doing._

"Where _are_ Rin and Shippo?" Kagome asked curiously, remembering they hadn't been in the hut.

"They are living at the western stronghold with Sesshomaru since they are now mated." Midoriko answered.

Kagome nodded, remembering that Sesshomaru had told her they were mated. Even then she had thought he meant married. She also remembered that she hadn't seen them even once since she had been returned to her time.

He always said that they were out of the country and too busy to return and visit. There was never even a call, but she had never worried about it since she was always busy with her studies and reiki training. She was only dealing with school and her powers and she was busy. They were probably dealing with business, foreign business at that.

As she listened to them talk the fog rolled in once again, covering the area, them, and fading out their voices.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

The fog slowly thinned and they could see it was getting dark out and that they were inside a hut. As the fog completely cleared Kagome's eyes bypassed the differences between this hut and the previous one, and landed on her other self lying face down on the floor.

A pulse of youki came through the air, into the hut, and seemed to focus on the prone figure, and Kagome knew it was a call only she could feel. It happened two more times before the future Kagome finally responded, groaning as she turned over.

Her yukata was open and they could clearly see the bruises and claw marks on her nearly naked body.

They watched her struggle to her feet and clumsily tie her yukata closed before finding her sandals. She seemed to absently grab her bow and arrows, as if it was only done by habit rather than consciously done, and stumble from the hut.

They followed in silence as she walked away from the village and into the forest with the aid of her bow, stumbling and occasionally falling as she went.

Kagome couldn't understand what had happened to the other her. She had obviously been attacked, and by a demon from the wounds on her body, but she couldn't figure out by who.

If there had been a demon attack on the village there would have been an uproar and people running around. Everything was quiet and peaceful. So if there had been no attack how did she get attacked in what looked like her own home?

She had a suspicion, an _obvious_ suspicion given what she had seen and learned so far, but she didn't even want to think it let alone believe it. The possibility that it was true was too much for her mind with the way she felt.

 _Kagome slowly walked along the path winding through the trees, her eyes struggling to stay open, and soon came upon a familiar figure in white standing in her path._

 _"Sess...Sesshomaru." She slurred before she collapsed._

Kagome and Midoriko watched in tense silence as he caught her then followed, somehow keeping up, as he raced through the forest until he came to a hot spring. He lay her in the grass and quickly started a fire before checking her head.

Both watching women knew he had found a wound from the blood on his fingertips, and concluded from that and her earlier slurring that she most likely had a concussion.

They continued to watch in silence as Sesshomaru began to strip Kagome of her clothing once he finished examining her head. He opened her yukata, used his claws to cut off the ripped and bloody makeshift breast-binding, and pulled off the gratefully still intact makeshift "panties". He then stripped down to his hakama and carried her into the heated water.

 _Kagome whimpered and struggled weakly, trying to escape the pain, but calmed as her friend began to wash her body, cleaning away the blood from the claw marks._

 _"Why did the half-breed do this?" Sesshomaru quietly asked._

Kagome grimaced and closed her eyes in pain from where she stood as her suspicion was confirmed.

 _"Myu told Inuyasha that you were around the village a few days ago." Kagome replied, slurring her words._

 _"Who is this Myu?" He asked as he focused on a particularly nasty claw mark._

 _"The village priestess." She answered and he nodded. "Inuyasha knew I was the only reason you would visit since Rin isn't in the village anymore, and he doesn't like that we're friends. He wanted me to stop seeing you. We argued because I wasn't willing to give up your friendship." She continued slowly, her words still coming out slurred._

 _"For me it started with your future self, and when I came back you and I built a friendship and trust. I can tell you anything, talk about anything, and you listen and don't judge me. You even give me advice when I need it, and I'm not willing to give that up, even for Inuyasha." She explained just as slowly, struggling to get her words out._

 _"I understand." Sesshomaru replied quietly. "Relax now. I will take care of you."_

Midoriko and Kagome watched as Sesshomaru used his youki to draw out her reiki and somehow guided it to heal her as he continued to wash her body and massage her sore muscles.

Kagome closed her eyes and shook her head. Inuyasha had attacked her, and all because she wasn't willing to stop being friends with Sesshomaru. She understood that Sesshomaru was his hated half-brother, the demon that had tried to kill him, but things were different.

Sesshomaru wasn't trying to kill him anymore, hadn't in years, and wasn't trying to steal his sword either. He had tried to kill her too, but a lot of the people she had met in that time had tried, _including_ Inuyasha, but he was her friend now.

He was her friend in the present and she wanted him to be her friend in the past as well. Why would Inuyasha demand she give up one of her friends? She had never asked him to give up anything, even when his obsession with Kikyou was at its all-time high and she was looking to drag him to hell.

She had stuck by his side through _everything_. Loved him through everything. Loved him for who and what he was. Why couldn't he do the same for her? Especially when she wasn't doing anything wrong.

 _Why would someone who loves me do this?_ She couldn't help asking herself as the fog moved in again.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

When the fog cleared it was very dark out, obviously night, and they were standing outside a hut. Kagome recognized it as her other self's home, but that observation was pushed to the side as she stared at the mat covering the doorway.

She could hear muffled sounds, low growls, and scuffs. She frowned and looked at Midoriko uneasily. The sounds alarmed her, made her feel uncomfortable, and she didn't like that they were coming from her future home.

Suddenly the sounds stopped and moments later Inuyasha pushed aside the mat and stepped out. He paused to apparently finish adjusting his clothes back into place and put his Tessaiga in his obi sash before walking away, heading toward the road out of the village, without a backward glance.

Kagome frowned as she noticed a couple of things instantly. First, his eyes had been red before they faded back to his normal amber, and second, he was missing the sacred beads around his neck.

She thought back over the events she had been shown and realized she hadn't seen those beads since her other self returned to the past. They definitely hadn't been there during the wedding ceremony.

She could admit that she would have taken them off either before or after they were married; loving him and trusting him enough to think he didn't need to wear them anymore. He would be her husband after all, and she shouldn't use them on him if they were disagreeing.

There was also no need for that connection between them since he wouldn't need to go through the well, and she wouldn't have thought she would need them for protection anymore. He had never physical hurt her, and the only time he had come close was when he lost control of his demon blood.

Minutes passed and eventually Kagome came out of the hut, hair loose, barefoot, and weapon less. They followed her as she stumbled severely away from the village, falling occasionally as she made her way toward the well clearing along the dark path.

Once she entered the clearing she stumbled to the well and collapsed at the far side of the structure and rolled weakly onto her back, her eyes already closed.

Kagome and Midoriko stood silently as the sky slowly began to lighten. As it grew brighter out they could see her future self more clearly. They saw severe bruising over and around her mouth, and on her wrists and ankles. Claw marks lined her neck, bleeding heavily, and her dark yukata was ripped.

It was clear from her appearance, her wounds, Inuyasha's actions when he left, and the fact that she had struggled to get to the well clearing, that she had been raped.

Kagome was stunned.

 _How could this have happened?! Why would Inuyasha do such a thing? What have I ever done to him to deserve such a vicious attack? Was this because of my friendship with Sesshomaru or was it over something else?_ She wondered in horror.

 _It doesn't matter what caused this. No matter what I...what she...what I did or didn't do I didn't deserve to be attacked like this_. She decided in the next moment.

Another moment passed and Kagome realized that without the sacred beads she would have been helpless against Inuyasha.

 _But I have my reiki so I don't understand why I didn't use it. Sesshomaru taught me how to use and control my power specifically so I would be able to defend myself._ She thought with a frown as she stared at her other self.

 _Was I too shocked and surprised that Inuyasha was attacking me or did I not defend myself because of my feelings for him? Did I not want to hurt him even to defend myself from the brutal attack? Or worse, did I feel I couldn't stop him because he was my husband?_ Her rapid thoughts were cut short as Sesshomaru arrived in the clearing in his light orb.

 _"Miko?" Sesshomaru called as he moved forward and knelt at her side. He held his large clawed hands out, hovering over her, hesitant to touch her with what he was seeing. His nose quivering as he took in the story her scent was telling him._

 _"Miko? Miko?" He called as he stared at her, his eyes moving intently over her form._

 _"Kagome?" He called, obviously hoping her name would get a reaction, but she didn't even twitch. He quickly got to his feet and drew Tenseiga._

It was at that moment that Kagome realized the other her was dead. That she had died at some point after she collapsed and she hadn't realized it.

She watched Sesshomaru's actions and saw that the sword didn't react, much to his anger as his eyes instantly turned red, and she understood that it was either too late or she didn't want to come back. If that was the case considering what happened to her she could understand her reluctance.

The two women then watched as the demon lord picked up Kagome's body and followed as he began to fly away eventually ending up at his home. He walked inside and passed through the halls, coming across Rin and Shippo, who understand instantly that they were viewing the dead, not injured, body of their mother figure.

Kagome grimaced in pain as she heard them both cry out in shock and saw the grief spread over their faces.

Despite their reactions Sesshomaru continued on, and went to what was obviously his bedroom and into a connecting room that turned out to be a personal hot spring. They watched as he stripped down to his hakama and stripped her body and gently cleaned it. He then dried them both before carrying her back into his room and lying her on his bed.

As Kagome watched his actions and the emotions he was displaying the knowledge that Sesshomaru liked her hit her abruptly and with force.

 _He said his chosen had died without ever knowing how he felt about her_. She thought, recalling his words as she watched him, and now understood that it had been her he was referring to.

She remembered his reaction to learning that she had married Inuyasha in the first future scene with him, and now realized that after learning about it he kept his silence on his feelings and just continued to be her friend. He had visited her, listened to her talking, healed her injures, and done who knew what else in between what she had been shown.

Kagome watched as Sesshomaru dressed her body in a beautiful kimono, his eyes a bloody red and yet they clearly showed his incredible sadness. He straightened the kimono, smoothing out the fabric over her, and gently touched her bruised face. He brushed his nose along her neck and face, soft whines escaping his throat that made her eyes tear up.

Once he was done she watched him redress himself and leave the room, pausing to put up a barrier that was obviously intended to keep her body from being disturbed. He walked down the hall and stopped at a closed door, the sound of a woman crying clear to her ears, and flared his youki briefly.

A few moments passed and Shippo opened the door. She watched Sesshomaru look pass him and into to the room at Rin lying on the bed trembling in her grief.

 _"Return to your mate. She is losing the kit." Sesshomaru said quietly, seeing the young kitsune's eyes widen, before he signaled to a nearby servant to fetch the healer._

 _Within a few minutes the healer arrived and disappeared into the couple's room. A few tense minutes later Shippo came out, sad and weary, and closed the door behind him._

 _"It is over." He said solemnly, clearly struggling to hold in his grief. "Rin's going to be fine physically, but she's incredibly heartbroken. This on top of learning about Kagome was just too much." He explained, and Sesshomaru nodded._

 _"I will look in on you when I return." He stated quietly._

 _"What're you going to do?" Shippo asked, clearly noting his still red eyes._

 _"What I should have done years ago. I will kill the half-breed." He answered, his eyes flashing coldly._

The two women followed as Sesshomaru returned to Inuyasha's forest close to the village and began to hunt Inuyasha. There were no other words for it. His eyes were still red and he was sniffing delicately at the air as he ran in a direction only he knew.

He stopped near a neighboring village and flared his youki. A few moments later Inuyasha came running.

 _"What the hell do you want?" Inuyasha asked rudely._

 _"Why did you rape the miko?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice a growl and barely understandable._

 _"I didn't rape her. She's my wife. I can do what I want with her." He said with a smirk. "I was disciplining her. She should've learned her lesson by the time I return to the village."_

 _"Did she go running to you? Her_ friend _?" He asked with a sneer._

 _"No she did not." Sesshomaru growled. "You do not realize what you have done. You killed her. You raped her to death!"_

Kagome could see Inuyasha's shock and disbelief. He was surprised but he obviously didn't believe what he was hearing.

 _"You're lying!" Inuyasha yelled. "I know she ran to you, but she's_ _my_ _wife and I can do whatever I want to her!"_

His words quite obviously angered Sesshomaru and they watched him speed forward without a word and literally rip Inuyasha's throat out, almost to the point of decapitation. He then removed the black pearl that was his father's grave, the Tessaiga, and then melted his body with his acid.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Instead of the fog rolling in to change the scene the foggy nondescript place reappeared abruptly.

"You have now seen some of the events of your future should you marry Inuyasha." Midoriko said as she looked to Kagome. "You have a choice to make as the well will be reopening soon."

"When will the well reopen?" Kagome asked quietly, subdued by what she had seen.

"It will open within the next few days." She answered. "However, it will not remain open indefinitely. It will close once you go through it or at the end of the same day it opens. If you do not go through it by then you will lose your opportunity to return to the past."

Kagome sighed and nodded.

"I guess I have some serious thinking to do." She said and Midoriko nodded in return.

"Then I will leave you to it. Good luck Kagome." The legendary priestess said.

"Thank you for showing me what could be; for such an incomparable and important gift." Kagome said gratefully.

"You are welcome." Midoriko said before she turned and walked away, disappearing into the fog.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 **Chapter Three** **:** The Decision

Kagome's eyes opened slowly to see her room bright from the morning daylight. She felt like she had just gone to sleep but was still rested regardless. She sat up and looked around slowly, feeling changed by the dream she had.

A dream that she knew was not a dream. It was real. Midoriko had actually visited her and had given her a priceless gift. Now she needed to make a decision, and in order to do that she needed to think over all she had seen and learned.

She climbed out of bed and began to prepare for the day she had ahead of her.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome left her house and walked across the shrine courtyard toward the well house. She slid the door open and stepped inside, and moved down the stairs toward the well and stood staring at it.

She could tell that it had yet to open so that wasn't something she had to worry about at the moment.

She sat on the lip of the well and closed her eyes as she remembered what Midoriko had shown her. She remembered how happy she had looked to be back in the past and to be greeted by Inuyasha.

He had run to her and hugged her and he seemed so happy. It was exactly how she had hoped he would react. To show his feelings to her, to show that he missed her, to show he could be passionate toward her when there was no danger involved.

Then there had been watching the happy joyful marriage. She had looked beautiful and so very happy, and all her friends had been there to witness and celebrate. Well, all except Sesshomaru, but she honestly hadn't expected him to be there.

He and Inuyasha had pretty much established a cease fire during the hunt for Naraku, and that seemed to continue during the time she was away from what she had been able to see in the glimpses Midoriko had shown her. But that didn't mean they were suddenly buddy buddy and sharing brotherly love.

She knew there was just too much bad blood between them for that to happen and she had finally accepted that.

Thinking about the two of them reminded Kagome of the glimpse of the conversation between her and Sesshomaru, and the revelation that along with being married, or instead of being married, she should have been mated.

 _I don't understand why Inuyasha wouldn't mate when he said he loved me._ She thought and frowned. _Well he didn't actually say he loved me, but I assumed he must have for me to agree to marry him_. She admitted, but she honestly wondered if before seeing her future she would have insisted on hearing those words from him in order to marry him. She doubted it since she hadn't insisted on hearing it since she first discovered her feelings for him.

 _Still, did he think he couldn't marry and mate me? But no. He made a choice; a deliberate choice to marry me instead of mating me_. She thought with a slight sigh.

She really wanted to know what the difference was, but the only one she could ask at this point was her friend, her best friend. Her best friend who apparently liked her enough to choose her as his life partner.

She couldn't ask him. She needed time to wrap her mind around that fact, and until then she couldn't talk to him. Of course she knew she had limited time to get used to him liking her and speak to him depending on what she ultimately decided.

Kagome shook her head and focused back on her task. She recalled the fact that she would be kept from being the village priestess, and abused by her husband for her friendship with his half-brother.

 _I don't understand that at all. Would I really not be a priestess just because Inuyasha didn't want me to? It's possible that it was just in terms of being the village priestess. After all, I would still have me powers, but then I doubt from what I saw and learned that he would let me leave the village_. She thought. _And if I did he'd most likely be with me, and I still wouldn't be able to do anything with my powers or healing knowledge_.

She couldn't understand letting herself be abused by Inuyasha. Yes the sacred beads disappeared sometime before the wedding but she still had her reiki. Why not use it? Her bow and arrows were still around, so those were useable as well.

Kagome stood and left the well house and the shrine grounds altogether. Maybe she had lost herself after they were married. Maybe it was something that happened gradually over time and she hadn't seen it until it was too late, and by the time she did she was too broken inside to do anything about it.

She didn't know much about battered women beyond the generalities, but she knew they usually stayed out of fear and love. If she had been scared she obviously hadn't been scared enough to stop being Sesshomaru's friend, so it must have been her feelings of love that kept her with him and kept her from defending herself. She hadn't wanted to hurt him regardless of how much he hurt her.

As she walked she remembered the scene of her death, and realizing as Sesshomaru was cleaning her body that she had bleed to death. Inuyasha had raped her, viciously at that, and she had died from it. Not only had she died, but she had died alone.

 _How could he have done that? I couldn't have done anything to deserve that. Why would he do that to someone he claimed he loved? But no. From what I heard he never said he loved me_. She reminded herself. _But how could he do that to someone who loves him as much as I do?_

Those thoughts swirled around her mind as she walked around her neighborhood. She eventually ended up at a park and sat in the grass under the shade of a large tree.

 _I need to be truthful with myself._ Kagome told herself as she shook her head. _I went back to the past to be with the one I love, and I ended up in an abusive relationship that ultimately killed me._

 _Inuyasha may have been jealous and angry of my easy friendship with Sesshomaru, but it had to have gone deeper than that_. She thought with a frown. _He obviously made a choice to marry me and not mate me. There's obviously a difference, but I don't know what it is. Still, it must be significant or Midoriko wouldn't have mentioned it. There had to be a connection_.

She was sure that if she had known the difference it would have told her a lot about the half demon she loved, and probably would have caused her to hesitate in marrying him.

Kagome sighed and thought over Inuyasha's death, the brutally quick way it had happened, and realized that Sesshomaru could have killed him at any time during the shard hunt if he had wanted to. She had always thought with Inuyasha cutting off his arm, and later injuring him to the point his sword saved him, that he was at least at his level.

Now she realized she had been sorely mistaken. Looking back those instances had been times where Sesshomaru had been caught off guard, and both times he had been focused on getting the Tessaiga and not necessarily on killing Inuyasha.

That thought led her to think about why Inuyasha's death had been so brutal. Sesshomaru had feelings for her. He _actually_ liked her. She didn't know to what extent his feelings ran, but he had stayed around and continued to be a friend even though she had married Inuyasha.

 _And he continued to be my friend, be what I needed, even after my death. He befriended me in the present. Guided and helped me, knowing all the time that I would return to the past, to be with his half-brother, and die because of it_. She thought in wonder, feeling a warmth flutter in her stomach.

Kagome understood Sesshomaru more and more after seeing those future scenes. She understood his sadness, his intensity in making sure she could use her powers properly, and understood why he never spoke of what happened with her and Inuyasha in the past.

She even thought she understood why she had yet to see Rin and Shippo. She didn't know how much they had seen her after they mated, but it had to have been horrible for their last sight of her to be her wounded and bloody body.

She didn't think they could stand to see her and know that she would return to the past to be with the one who had killed her, and that they would never see her again after she went through the well.

Kagome closed her eyes and remembered the times he had healed her in the future scenes and how he had taken care of her body after her death. He had been so gentle and caring even though he had clearly been distraught.

 _I'm not used to that. Definitely not used to having my injures tended to. I usually did it myself after I tended to everyone else. Seeing that was nice_. She thought softly. _Still, I don't know what to think of Sesshomaru's feelings for me. He's my best friend_.

It was funny how she thought of Sesshomaru as her best friend after getting a glimpse of her future. Before she went to sleep the night before she would have said he was her friend and Inuyasha was her best friend, but now her mind automatically thought of him as her best friend.

She had never thought of Sesshomaru in a romantic sense because of her feelings for Inuyasha. He was gorgeous of course, and since he had reentered her life she had seen a different side to him. He was kind, caring, considerate, and open.

Kagome frowned as she recalled the glimpses she had in her sleep, and realized that she had seen all those things with his past self as well. Even then he had been willing to show her that other side of himself, even knowing that only friendship would come of it.

She had thought that he had become that way from living to her time, but she was clearly wrong. He just had no reason to show that side of himself in the past.

 _And I didn't try to see beyond what he had shown, the cold distant expressions, unlike I did with everyone else because of my feelings for his half-brother._ She thought with a sigh and looked up at the sky.

She had questions for him. Questions about what he knew of her situation with Inuyasha; things she hadn't seen in those glimpses of her future.

She wanted to know what he knew about Inuyasha during the time she had been away, and if he had cheated on her during the marriage. She wanted to know how many times he had healed her from Inuyasha's abuse.

Did he know if Sango and Miroku knew what was going on in her relationship, and if they ever learn about her death? Did he know why she had accepted not being the village priestess? And mating. What was mating? Was it different than marriage? How often did he visit her, and when did he develop feelings for her?

She had so many questions, and even though she had them she wasn't sure she wanted to ask them. She didn't know how she would react to seeing Sesshomaru, speaking to him, now that she knew of his feelings. But she reminded herself that he was her best friend regardless and she should be able to talk to him.

Kagome sighed. _I need to make a decision. The well hasn't opened yet, but I want to have a set plan already in place when it does_.

Nearly an hour passed as she kept going over all the information she had, and thinking about what she wanted, before she came to a decision.

Kagome decided she was going back to the past. She wasn't going back to be with Inuyasha. She was going back because she felt more comfortable and more herself in the past then she did in the present.

Still, part of her wanted to see with her own eyes, from her own perspective, the signs of what Inuyasha would do. Despite what she had seen she still loved him, her feelings couldn't just be turned off like that, but she also wanted to see what would happen with Sesshomaru.

She was flattered by his feelings, and intrigued and curious about him. Despite him being her best friend she didn't know everything about him. She wanted to befriend him in the past and possibly see his feelings for her come to light, and see if she developed feelings for him.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome stood in the well house early in the morning looking at the well. It was surprisingly only a day after she had made her decision that the well had opened.

She had said her goodbyes to her family after she had made her decision since she hadn't known exactly when the well would reopen and if she would have time to speak with them before it closed.

She hadn't bothered to tell them about the glimpse she had gotten of her future nor about the present Sesshomaru's feelings for her. She didn't want them concerned or worried, and beyond that it was none of their business.

She was wearing a pretty silver white yukata with purple butterflies scattered up, down, and across the fabric. Not only had she wanted to wear something different from what she had seen in the vision of her future return, she found herself wanting to look her best when she saw Sesshomaru.

She didn't know if she had seen him her first day back, but she hoped that by leaving early she would see him before the day was over. Realistically she knew that she would be wearing the yukata until she got her hands on something else, so if she didn't see him the first day then that was probably okay.

As for the present Sesshomaru, she hadn't seen or spoken to him since her graduation. She had decided to speak to him and ask her questions, but it seemed fate was conspiring against her.

All her family seemed to want her attention, to go places and do things, and that had only intensified since telling them her plan to return to the past. She had hoped the well would wait a few days before reopening, but no such luck. She had been lucky to even be able to buy the yukata she was wearing.

Kagome stepped up onto the lip of the well and watched as the blue light of the time stream appeared and flared brightly as if welcoming her.

She would just have to be content with seeing Sesshomaru in the past, though she wished she had been able to say goodbye to her best friend.

Beyond that she had decided she would not marry Inuyasha so quickly nor remove his sacred beads. It was actually debatable whether she would marry him at all considering what she had seen and learned.

Along with that she decided she would treat the situation with Sesshomaru and Inuyasha like two guys were interested in her and go from there. She knew that one liked her already or would come to like her, and the other could be abusive if she let him.

She had options, foreknowledge, and knew at least partially how she wanted to spend her life in the past. For now that was enough.

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out before she stepped forward and let herself fall into the well. The blue light of the time slip slowed her descent before gently depositing her onto the bottom of the well and disappearing.

Kagome looked up at the clear blue sky and began to climb her way out of the well. Once she reached the top and stood in the grass she took a deep breath and released it slowly as she looked around. She looked over to where she had stood with Midoriko, and smiled in thanks to the legendary priestess.

She knew that neither she nor the older priestess was there, at least she didn't think so, but she remembered them there and was thankful for the gift.

She began to walk along the path toward the village, admiring the familiar scenery she hadn't seen in years, but unable to help remembering the glimpses of a different version of her that had made different decisions.

It wasn't long before she felt a familiar youki coming her way. Inuyasha had obviously caught her scent since she was masking her aura and power. She honestly hadn't wanted to mask that and keep Sesshomaru from scenting her if he was in the area.

She took a steadying breath to prepare herself. She still loved him but she had no idea how she would react to him after seeing the way he had treated her in the glimpses of her future.

Especially after knowing how the other her had died. She caught a glimpse of red through the trees before she saw the full red clad figure of Inuyasha.

"Kagome!" She heard him call.

Kagome smiled lightly and waved, already having mixed feelings. She was happy to see him, but wary of him. _He doesn't know I've become friends with Sesshomaru in my time, and he's still wearing the sacred beads. I can still use them if he gets even the least bit threatening_. She quickly reminded herself.

Inuyasha slowed to a stop in front of her, eyes looking bright and surprised. He was probably surprised that she was dressed more traditionally, and she was glad she had since he probably would have hugged her like he had in the vision.

Part of her was happy that he would have hugged her, but the other part felt like her skin would crawl if he had, remembering the condition of her body and the blood that had pooled on her yukata and smeared her thighs.

"You're really here." He said as his eyes roamed over her.

"I am, and I'm here for good." She replied.

"That's good." He said and they lapsed into a slightly awkward silence.

"So how are you? How is everyone? What've I missed?" She asked, breaking the silence.

As they began walking back toward the village Kagome listened as Inuyasha told her about Keade still being the same, just older, and Sango and Miroku's marriage and the three kids they now had. Shippo was still small and loud, and Rin was now staying in the village.

"How long has Rin been living there?" She asked even though she already knew.

"Pretty much since you disappeared." Inuyasha answered with a careless shrug.

They soon made it to the village and further in to a hut that hadn't been there the last time she was there, but one she recognized from her glimpse into her future. Before she could ask who it belonged to Miroku and Sango came out holding a baby, followed by two little girls, and Shippo and Rin.

Kagome grinned, happy to see them all, and even though she had seen them in that future glimpse, she was surprised to see Sango and Miroku's children.

"Kagome!" Shippo shouted as he ran toward her and jumped into her outstretched arms.

"Shippo!" She said, hugging him tightly before she knelt on the ground.

"Rin!" She said as she held an arm open for the little girl who wasted no time rushing in to hug her as well.

Within moments she was encircled by all of her friends giving and receiving happy and ecstatic greetings, being introduced to the new little ones, and asking and answering questions rapid fire amid lots laugher.

The group eventually led her to Keade's hut where they all piled in and she greeted the older woman cheerfully. She was especially pleased to see her, knowing that she didn't have many years left.

They all stayed there for nearly an hour, catching up on each other's lives, before the group left Keade's hut, not wanting to tire her with so much excitement and began to walk around the village.

Kagome greeted those she was familiar with and was introduced to those she didn't know. All the while Inuyasha was at her side as if he didn't want to let her out of his sight.

She was fine with it at first, but now it was getting irritating. She wasn't used to that behavior, even before she returned to her time he hadn't been all in her personal space, and she was still uncomfortable in his presence given what she had seen of him in her future.

She needed a break. She needed time to herself to process all the information she had learned, and to take in the fact that she really was back in the past for good.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

The sun was just showing the first signs of getting ready to set when Kagome managed to get away from everyone and make her way to the well.

Inuyasha had been the hardest to get away from. She was sure it was a mixture of wanting to make sure she didn't disappear back to the future, regardless of her assurances that the well was closed, and believing she couldn't protect her.

She could definitely protect herself. Sesshomaru had made sure of that. He didn't have time to teach her how to use a weapon beyond a bow and arrows since they were working around their responsibilities, but he had taught her some self-defense moves for if or when she found herself up against humans.

There was no need to think about demons. Sesshomaru had made sure her powers were trained enough to purify most demons and seriously injure others.

Still, she had managed to reassure Inuyasha and had made it to the well. She wasn't there because she missed the future, although she had no doubt that would come, but because it was a symbol of many things to her. A symbol of her home, her connection to Inuyasha, her connection to the past, and her friendship with Sesshomaru.

As Kagome sat on the lip of the well she looked over the area. She took in the grass, the wild flowers, the thick trees with their full branches, and breathed in the clean fresh air.

Then it happened.

As she was looking across the clearing he appeared out of the trees like a mirage. He moved toward her calmly at an easy pace, clearly in no hurry.

She took in the familiar white silk, the dark armor, the swords, and the long silvery moonlight hair as it swayed slightly. He was an image literally from her dreams. But as he got closer to her she blinked and realized he wasn't a mirage or even a dream. He was real. Sesshomaru was really there and approaching her.

She stood and tried to subtly smooth her yukata, her heart pounding and her nerves jumping, then he was there, standing in front of her.

"Miko." He greeted her quietly.

"Sesshomaru." Kagome said with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 _ **Part Two  
**_ **Chapter Four** **:** His Chosen

Sesshomaru looked around from his position on the battle field. The half-breed abomination and his incarnates were finally gone. He glanced around at his pack and temporary allies as they celebrated, but he knew it was not quite over. He looked to the miko standing off by herself, the complete jewel glowing softly in her hand, and met her eyes when she looked to him.

He could easily see her thoughts matched his own, and he nodded and waited for her to get rid of the jewel. She returned his nod and focused on the jewel.

"I wish for Midoriko to be free." He heard her whisper the wish, an appropriate one in his opinion, not waiting for her companions to gather around or see what they thought. He respected her all the more for that. She didn't waste time on such trivial things and chance something else happening to the jewel.

Sesshomaru watched as the jewel began to grow brighter and brighter, gaining everyone's attention, and felt the miko's power spike. He knew she wasn't doing it in preparation for anything. It was more that her powers were suddenly growing at a rapid rate.

Before he could decide whether to question her about it or not she and the glowing jewel vanished. His sensitive ears easily picked up her companions crying out her name and running to the spot she had been standing at as if that would solve anything.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly in his confusion. He didn't understand. Where had the miko gone? He'd heard her wish on the jewel and saw nothing wrong with it. It had still been pure after she spoke the wish. There was no reason for her to have vanished as she did.

 _Perhaps it is a function of how the jewel works_. He considered. _Would it have done that no matter the wish or who spoke it? Or was it a consequence of a selfless wish being spoken by the priestess of the sacred jewel?_ He wondered as he watched the gathering.

Sesshomaru glanced down as he felt tiny arms wrap around his leg. He saw Rin clinging to him and at her side was the kit that the miko had claimed. He had heard the soft pattering of their footsteps but had ignored the sounds since they were no threat.

He was briefly surprised that the kit was near him instead of with his companions, but didn't give it much thought since he figured the kit wanted to be near his ward. His nose twitched at the scent of sadness rolling off them. It was uncomfortable but he knew it was because they were concerned about the miko's disappearance.

He looked back to where the miko's companions stood and saw that they were talking, or rather arguing, and appeared to be grieving at the same time.

He was suddenly concerned that the miko might be dead. The vague thought that she might reappear at some point had just barely entered his mind, but he had never thought she was dead.

 _I do not want her to be dead_. He realized in that moment. She was one of the few beings he respected, and he certainly didn't think she deserved such a fate after working so hard to put the jewel back together and destroy it.

Still, regardless of whatever had happened to her there was unfortunately nothing he could do. He did not know enough about the jewel to know exactly how it would work in any given situation.

He didn't even know if the miko had been transported back to her home wherever that was. He was aware that she spent much time with the half-breed in the village in Edo near the bone eaters well, but he knew that was not really her home considering how unusual she was and all the strange things she had with her.

The miko's companions seemed to come to a conclusion before the half-breed turned in his direction.

"Let's go runt. We gotta go." He called to the kit.

The kit appeared to be hesitant but after a long look at his ward he ran toward the group and joined them as they began to leave the area.

Sesshomaru lightly placed a hand on Rin's head as he watched the kit.

"Come Rin." He said before he turned, forcing her to release his leg, in the opposite direction of the group and began to walk.

Now that the spider half-breed abomination was gone he had no ties to the half-breeds group what so ever, especially with the miko having disappeared. As far as he was concerned she was the only one of that group that was worth associating with, with the exception of the kit who was too young.

So he headed for home. It had been some time since he had been there since he had focused solely on Naraku's destruction. The last thing he had wanted was for him to cause any trouble on his lands.

Luckily Naraku had never been foolish enough to set up a hideout or cause trouble on his lands. Clearly he had known what kind of trouble that would bring down on him.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Sesshomaru had been home for a few weeks now and had finally finished catching up on the paperwork that had piled up while he had been hunting the spider.

He had conducted various meetings that he had had to postpone or miss altogether, and took a few minutes here and there to reject some unwanted female who thought to try and arrange a mating. He had no time for a female and even if that wasn't the case he wouldn't pick one he didn't want simply because she wanted him. That would be the height of foolishness.

Beyond that his lands and his home was quiet. Rin amused herself with the gardens and her flowers when she wasn't busy with her lessons, but he was not so busy that he hadn't noticed that her happiness was subdued.

When he questioned her about it he learned that she missed the kit. She enjoyed her lessons and all the flowers she had constant access to, but she didn't have anyone to play with.

He understood. His ward was lonely. The few children that lived in the palace were either too young for her to play with or old enough to think she was too young or didn't want to play with a human. She'd had similar problems during their travels when he stopped in an area to allow her to play. It was either that or the children became afraid when they noticed his presence.

He'd never had play time during his childhood and wanted her to have it, and enjoy it with how hard her young life had been. Something she had always been able to do with the kit. So with that information it wasn't any trouble to take her to the half-breed's village since that was the most likely place the kit would be.

When he and his ward arrived he scented the air, laboriously filtering through the stench of the human village, and ascertained that the kit along with the half-breeds group was there but that the half-breed himself was not.

He took Rin to the hut where the kit was located and informed her he would retrieve her when the sun began to go down. He then walked off and began to patrol the outskirts of the village to make sure it was safe to leave his ward there for any length of time.

This repeated every few days before he made arrangements to leave his ward in the elder priestesses care. It would take her away from her lessons but he would let it pass for the time being. She could pick them back up at a later point. He would provide for her care and allow her to stay there as long as she was happy.

His decision pleased Rin and even made the kit happy. He was aware, beyond their happiness, of the whispers of the humans, both the villagers and the couple that was a part of the half-breeds group, believing that he was leaving his ward in the village to be with her own kind.

He was leaving her there to be close to her only friend, but he cared not what others thought and had no such thoughts on correcting them.

Eventually the half-breed finally made an appearance in the village and tried to make a fuse out of him leaving his ward there, but he quickly set the whelp straight. He informed the half-breed that he could do as he pleased and that his ward was none of his business and not his concern so he had nothing to complain about.

Sesshomaru then left and went back home. He made sure to visit his ward every few weeks and regularly send provisions for his ward as was arranged.

He learned rather quickly that the whelp was often away from the village he called home, and discovered while patrolling his land what indecent and revolting activities kept him away. He didn't mind not having to deal with the half-breed when he checked on his ward, but he often wondered if the whelp ever thought of the miko when he was engaging in his proclivities.

 _Regardless if the miko is dead or simply unable to return from wherever she is does he not remember her and consider how she would feel if she learned of his actions? Has he forgotten her so soon?_

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

A few years after the eradication of Naraku Sesshomaru was on his way to visit his ward. When he got within sight of the village he caught a scent he hadn't smelled since the final battle.

He continued on his way and eventually entered the village, heading toward the scent of his ward, and found the previous scent was becoming stronger, indicating to him that the scents were together. He flared his youki briefly since he also smelled the half-breed and didn't want him over reacting to his presence.

On this occasion instead of the half-breed rushing out a familiar yet changed face came out and greeted him, though the half-breed was right behind her.

"Hello Lord Sesshomaru." The quiet calm voice of the miko flowed toward him.

It appeared the miko had reappeared from wherever the jewel had sent her. He found that he was pleased that she obviously had not been dead, but he wondered where she had been as she had clearly grown in her time away.

"Miko." He greeted her in return. "Rin." He greeted his ward who had exited the hut as well.

He visited with Rin for a while before he decided to leave. He quietly took leave of her then exited the hut, but was followed by the miko who asked to speak to him.

He allowed that and continued to walk as the miko clearly didn't want to stand in one place and speak. He didn't want to stay in the village longer than necessary so he didn't mind.

They had reached the village boundary before she finally decided to speak. He learned that the jewel had sent her home, and that her home was five hundred or so years in the future, but now she was back for good.

He also learned that his future self had appeared days after her return and had gotten her through her grief. They had also become rather good friends if she were to be believed. She smelled of no deceit and he had no reason to disbelieve her so he accepted her words.

The miko then revealed that he had apparently known to come to her then because she had told him when she returned to the past just as she was informing him now.

"What else can you tell me of your encounters with my future self?" Sesshomaru asked curiously.

He learned of his future self's visits to her, that he had helped her come to terms with the issues she'd had while they had been hunting Naraku and the jewel shards, and that he'd helped her with her powers as well.

 **~oOo~**

Days turned into weeks and Sesshomaru found himself coming to the village, visiting the miko every few days. They would always end up in the well clearing, and though the half-breed usually accompanied her he always left when they began speaking of things he didn't understand.

That didn't bother him. If the half-breed wanted to remain ignorant that was his purgative.

Sesshomaru could admit that the miko intrigued him. First with the knowledge that his future self had approached her and started their friendship, then with just her. That future friendship seemed to have changed her behavior when it came to him.

No longer was she wary around him. She was actually comfortable and had no problem speaking to him. No longer was she hesitant to approach him like she had been during the time they were still dealing with the spider. Now she sought him out whenever she knew he was around.

He didn't mind these changes. He found himself enjoying them. They spent a lot of time talking about her time. He didn't ask about events that could change the future. He didn't care about that. He made his own future day by day.

Instead he asked about the differences between his time and the one she was born to. He learned of the different modes of transportation, changes in clothing, advancements in healing, gender equality, government and laws, and subjects of education.

It was then that he discovered just how intelligent the miko was. He had been aware she had had some form of learning simply from the way she spoke and reasoned, but speaking to her now he learned just how educated she was. She had studied mathematics, sciences, history, different forms of literature, and a different language.

The miko had spent her years away completing her education, and apparently had passed on what she called 'higher education' in order to return to the past. A past where she felt more comfortable and could be herself while surrounded by friends, instead of remaining in her time to study more and be uncomfortable and alone.

Her family was there, however, despite knowing of her travels to the past they did not know the extent of her experiences. They had apparently met the half-breed but that was not the same as coming across other half demons and demons on a daily basis. They also could not relate to her when it came to her powers as they did not have any.

His future self was also there but he understood that they still lived separate lives. He had responsibilities to see to and could not forget about them to spend his time with her, especially if all she would be doing is focusing on her education.

The knowledge of their future friendship, their present talks, and his intrigue of her ultimately resulted in their becoming friends as they had been in the future.

Though Sesshomaru was honest with himself and admitted that he was developing feelings for the miko as well.

He didn't care that she was human. Despite common belief he didn't hate humans. He thought of them like he did nearly everyone else; that they weren't worth his time.

The miko, however, had qualities going in her favor.

She was educated, which was a major positive to him. They could easily hold intelligent conversations and debate. She was powerful. That was something she had shown him one day since he was curious. Apparently his future self had made sure she could thoroughly mask her power and use it whenever she wanted.

He appreciated greatly that she came from a time where being clean was the norm. She had always been that way from what he had observed and had clearly continued on her return to his time so she was always clean, allowing her natural scent to surround her.

The miko was no longer a child. She had grown and matured in her time away. Childish antics were a thing of the past. She even dressed properly now, although he had come to learn that her previous clothing was a product of her time and what the majority of females her age wore.

She was comfortable around him, which was more than he could say for most females. They could make their desire for him as a lover or mate known, but they couldn't stand his silences or hold a conversation with him when he tried. She had never feared him but she had been rightly wary. Their future friendship, and current friendship to an extent, had acclimated her to his presence.

She was clearly good with children. She had done well with the kit in the time she had had him, and she was always good to his ward. He knew she would continue to teach them and protect them to the best of her ability.

She was loyal, kind, caring, considerate, and had a temper. He liked that aspect of her. He knew life would be exciting with her around.

With the feelings he had for her and his affection for her growing by the day Sesshomaru decided he would court the miko.

He was very aware of her feelings for the half-breed, her love for him. Knew that it was part of the reason for her return, but he was also aware of his unfaithful behavior while she was gone. That was a clear mark against him, and no matter how much the half-breed followed her around that fact would always remain.

He was aware, however, that the miko didn't know that information. But that didn't matter. He would inform her later when she returned his affection. He was confident that he could turn her feelings toward him. Their current and future friendship should work in his favor toward that end.

Even better was the fact that despite her affection for the half-breed she was still pure and bore no mark of any kind. No mating mark, courting mark, or scent mark. As long as those things didn't changed everything would be well.

 **~oOo~**

Unfortunately it was just his luck that once he decided to court the miko he would have to deal with unavoidable meetings with his counterparts in the north, south, and east.

They kept him from starting the courtship since he wanted to be able to give her the attention she deserved. However, he was still able to make time to come visit every few days, even though he couldn't stay as long as was his want, but it was long enough to ascertain that the miko was still pure and bore no mark.

Once his duties were done he visited the miko, determined to begin conducting their courtship. They met up as usual and talked of what had gone on while they were parted. As they were speaking of Rin and how big she was getting the miko began to speak of his ward looking pretty and happy at a wedding.

This confused him. He had been trying to figure out the perfect way to introduce her to the idea of him having feelings for her, but the mention of a wedding threw him completely.

"What wedding do you speak of? Did one of the villagers marry?" He asked.

"No. It was my wedding. Inuyasha and I got married. The ceremony was exactly what I wanted. Simple and beautiful." The miko said with a smile.

Sesshomaru stared in stunned silence. She was married. She had married the half-breed and he hadn't even known.

"When did this take place?" He finally asked after a few tense silent moments, his heart hammering in his agitation.

"A few weeks ago. Nearly the entire village was there." She answered, unknowingly adding insult to injury.

His mind reeled and his beast was just as stunned. His beast had been mostly quiet through the years only really speaking up more when the miko returned. It had been in agreement with him to take the miko as their own since she would be the perfect mate.

Now he and his beast were trying to think of what to do next. Sesshomaru forced his mind to work rapidly. The miko still smelled pure so the half-breed obviously hadn't mated her, and she still bore no mark so he hadn't mated her in any sense of the word.

Neither he nor his beast knew if they should be pleased or angry at those facts. He was pleased that she was still untouched, but he was angry that the half-breed was disrespecting her by not mating her.

It had been weeks from what she said so the half-breed was holding back. There was no other excuse. As much as he hated the very thought he knew the miko loved the whelp and would not deny him. From his understanding humans tended to couple right after they were married if they had not already.

 _Has she questioned the lack of intimacy?_ He wondered as he blinked slowly.

He glanced at her neck even though he didn't need to and saw no mark even with the white top of her priestess clothing in place. _Why didn't the half-breed mate her?_ He didn't know but the half-breed had obviously made the choice not to, which meant he had made the choice not to tie her life to his. Made the choice to watch her grow old and die long before he would.

"But..you are not mated." Sesshomaru said, his surprise apparent, finally breaking the silence even though in actuality it hadn't been long.

"Yes I am." The miko said with a nod. "The ceremony happened and it was great. All my friends were there to witness. Well, you weren't there but I didn't think you would want to be around Inuyasha even for the short time it would take to link our lives together."

Sesshomaru blinked and realized the miko didn't know, didn't understand. She clearly thought mating was the same as marriage.

 _I do not understand how? How can she be so unaware that mating is even a possibility or that there is a difference between being mated and being married_. He thought, unable to comprehend it.

 _ **The half-breed clearly did not tell her. The only other who would possibly know is the slayer, and she either does not know or believes the whelp has mated the miko. It is not as if she would tell the slayer something so personal even with their close friendship**_. His beast replied.

He nodded and looked at the miko as she talked, unaware of the significant event she had just curtailed. His beast whined and he could understand. The miko, _Kagome_ , was his Chosen. He had never thought of mating anyone before, and now he knew he never would.

Despite his humanoid appearance he was a dog demon and dog demons mated for life. It didn't matter that he hadn't mated her; his feelings and affections were engaged. She was his Chosen and that was enough.

He would not be his father. The princess Izayoi had not been married but she had had an understanding with another man and his father had come in, mated demon that he was, and decided he wanted her for himself.

He would not be the other male in her life, seducing her away from her husband just so he could have her here and there. Such actions would shame her when they were inevitably discovered and he would not even contemplate putting her in such a position. Even if he was low enough to make such an attempt he knew the miko was not the type to stray, and if she did give in she would feel guilt and shame.

Sesshomaru decided then and there to keep his silence. The miko was clearly happy and he knew she was very loyal. Even if she learned the difference between mating and marriage, she may be hurt, but she would still consider herself bound to Inuyasha for life with just the marriage ceremony they had.

He would not show her his affections either. It was not something she needed to know. If he did and she picked up on it she would most likely be uncomfortable, and it would still change nothing as she would remind him that she was bound to the half-breed.

So he would simply be her friend. He couldn't have her as a mate, but he could still be there when she needed him.

 **~oOo~**

As the months and years passed their friendship deepened. Strengthened by their continued talks and the events that happened around them.

The elder priestess passed away, and he comforted the miko the best he could when the half-breed's barely there attempts didn't help. His ward and the kit decided they were in love, which pleased both him and his Chosen, and were given permission to mate.

At the miko's insistence the couple came to live with him. She believed it was for the best and that with a wife now in his life the kit needed to learn things that only he could teach him.

The half-breed decided he didn't want the miko to be the village priestess and another girl was brought to the village for that role. From their talks he learned that the village, his Chosen, and her companions welcomed the girl, but he also heard what was barely mentioned and not said at all.

The miko's friends appeared to be drifting away from her. The distance stretching as time passed, and there was nothing his Chosen could do. They were growing apart. The monk and slayer had their family to take care of, and were friendlier with others in the village with small children of their own than they were with her.

Though the miko was married to the half-breed they had no children. They had no children because they had yet to couple even once. Others didn't know that fact and instead believed they simply were not meant to have them. What the miko didn't know was that her husband was being unfaithful. Had been since they were first married.

Beyond those issues and events Sesshomaru noticed that the half-breed was becoming abusive toward the miko. It started small but it was getting worse as time passed, and every time he would heal her if she didn't heal on her own before his next visit.

He also learned of the half-breed's jealousy of his friendship with the miko when he came for a visit and she came to him seriously injured. As he cleaned her wounds and helped her heal she explained that Inuyasha wanted her to stop seeing him, but she refused and he beat her as if that would change her mind.

Sesshomaru had never been so furious. He wanted to beat the half-demon, gut him, and dismember his body for what he had done to her.

He didn't understand why the half-breed was abusing her. Clearly his Chosen believed that it was because of their friendship, but he didn't believe that at all. It was just the excuse Inuyasha gave her. After all, he didn't have a problem with it when they were first becoming friend's years before.

Still, as much as he wanted to kill the half-breed he knew that would make her unhappy and angry with him since she still loved the whelp.

Instead he considered stepping back and distancing himself from her, but he knew that she wouldn't allow that. She valued all her friends and wouldn't drop one just because someone else had a problem with it. She would come to him if he tried that, which might make her situation worse.

Plus, he realized he was her only true friend. The former monk and slayer were still her friends, but they had drifted away from her so much that they seemed to not care about what was obviously happening to her or were being willfully blind to it.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Nearly eleven years to the day his Chosen returned to his time Sesshomaru came upon a sight that changed his world forever.

He had left his home early to visit the miko instead of waiting until later in the day. Rin was pregnant and having a hard time and he needed a break from the emotions he could taste in the air.

As he neared the forest bordering the village the heavy scent of blood smacked him in the face, and both he and his beast came to an instant alert as they realized it belong to his Chosen. He easily shifted from his youki cloud to his light orb and quickly followed the scent to the well clearing. He landed and rushed to her as he saw her figure lying next to the well.

"Miko?" He called as he knelt at her side, his nose already telling him the devastating truth as his eyes scanned her bruised face.

"Miko? Miko?" He continued as he stared, hoping for some movement.

"Kagome?" He tried desperately, hoping her name would make her react and somehow change what he knew to be true. Nothing happened; not even a twitch.

Sesshomaru quickly stood and pulled the Tenseiga but he saw no minions of the underworld. He was either too late or his Chosen did not wish to return.

His eyes bleed red, his beast merging with him in their grief, as he put his sword away and lifted her lifeless body into his arms. His beast whimpered as they realized she was still warm. She hadn't been gone long.

He returned home, passing the kit and his ward on his way to his bedroom, and went directly to his private hot spring. He cleaned and dried her body before he returned to his room and lay her on his bed.

He didn't understand how this could happen. The scent wafting off her body and her injuries told him exactly what happened to her before she died and exactly who had done it.

He closed his eyes briefly.

 _The half-breed is alive and my Chosen is dead_. Was all he could think.

He opened his eyes and looked at her pale bruised body.

 _Why did he do it?_ He wondered. _She could not have done anything to deserve such a fate_.

He shook his head and retrieved the kimono reserved for the Lady of the West and carefully dressed her.

 _Why did he marry her? Did he love her at all?_ He wondered as he gently stroked her bruised face. _All he ever was was distant, disrespectful, and abusive_. He thought as he leaned down and brushed his nose along her neck and face.

 _ **He did not deserve her, and now he has ended her**_. His beast replied and he couldn't help the distressed whine from leaving his throat.

As he finished dressing her he decided to do something he should have done years before and get rid of Inuyasha. No longer would he hold back or hesitate in remembrance of their father. He was sure their father would be appalled at what the half-breed had done.

 _And even if he was not I would not care. It would change nothing. The half-breed will die. He took my Chosen from!_

Sesshomaru had chosen not to reveal his feelings to her, but that didn't mean they hadn't continued to grow over the years. Love wasn't a strong enough word for what she meant to him. That's why the term _Chosen_ existed. She was his chosen in everything.

She was his chosen friend, his chosen mate, his chosen weakness, his chosen ally, his chosen advisor, his chosen to see him at his weakest, his chosen to see emotions he would reveal to none other, his chosen to see him vulnerable.

 _She was mine!_ He thought in devastated anger.

He turned away from her and calmly dressed and left his room, leaving a barrier up to protect her body that would not come down without his approval unless he died.

He stopped at Rin and Shippo's room at the sound of Rin's grief, and announced his presence with a flare of his youki. When Shippo opened the door he smelled the faint traces of blood and realized that Rin was about to miscarry.

"Return to your mate. She is losing the kit." Sesshomaru said quietly, seeing the young kitsune's eyes widen, before he signaled to a nearby servant to fetch the healer.

Within a few minutes the healer arrived and disappeared into the couple's room. A few tense minutes later Shippo came out, sad and weary, and closed the door behind him.

"It is over." He said solemnly, clearly struggling to hold in his grief. "Rin's going to be fine physically, but she's incredibly heartbroken. This on top of learning about Kagome was just too much." He explained, and Sesshomaru nodded.

"I will look in on you when I return." He stated quietly.

"What're you going to do?" Shippo asked, clearly noting his still red eyes.

"What I should have done years ago. I will kill the half-breed." He answered, his eyes flashing coldly.

Sesshomaru quickly left his home and returned to the forest close to the village in Edo and began to hunt down Inuyasha. He followed the half-breeds scent to a neighboring village and flared his youki.

It wasn't long before the half-breed came running, and he noticed that he still smelled of her blood; that he hadn't even bathed away the evidence of what he had done.

"What the hell do you want?" Inuyasha asked rudely.

"Why did you rape the miko?" Sesshomaru growled out.

"I didn't rape her. She's my wife. I can do what I want with her." He said with a smirk.

"I was disciplining her. She should've learned her lesson by the time I return to the village. Did she go running to you? Her _friend_?" He asked with a sneer.

"No she did not." Sesshomaru growled, realizing the half-breed wasn't remorseful and didn't know what had done. "You do not realize what you have done. You killed her. You raped her to death!"

"You're lying!" Inuyasha yelled in shock, not believing him. "I know she ran to you, but she's my wife and I can do whatever I want to her!"

This enraged Sesshomaru and he sped forward, sinking his claws into the half-breed's neck, and ripped his throat out without a word.

He watched the half-breeds corpse collapse where he stood then flung the chunk of flesh and muscle in his claws onto his chest. He then knelt at his side and calmly removed the black pearl from his eye, not wanting to leave his father's grave with him, and the Tessaiga since the half-breed wouldn't need it and it belonged in his family.

He stored the Tessaiga next to the Tenseiga and carefully coated his hand with his own poison acid to clean the half-breed's blood from his hand before he held his hand out over his body and watched the acid fall in streams onto his body. He watched in muted satisfaction as his corpse dissolved into nothing.

Sesshomaru then turned away and took to the sky and returned to his home. He gave his Chosen the burial she deserved, burying her beneath the shade of a large tree on his land near his home, with only Rin and Shippo there to witness and grieve.

He put up a protective barrier around the tree and grave to protect them from damage, not wanting her resting place to be disturbed. He wanted her to have peace in death since she had been denied it in life.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

The years passed into decades and centuries and Sesshomaru silently mourned through them all. The only thing keeping him going was looking after his ward and the kit, who he had grown to see as his children, and waiting for the time of his Chosen's birth so he could see her again and approach her as she had said he'd done.

When the year of her birth came around he made sure to be in the area, so that it came about that he was close at hand during her birth and was able to see her tiny form. Seeing her little baby figure soothed his grieving heart. It amused him slightly that even as a newborn she had been powerful, giving him a slight sting from just being nearby.

Still, now that she was born and he had seen her he knew he needed to stay away, and wait for the year and day she had mentioned when she was giving him the details.

It would be hard but he consoled himself and his beast by reminding himself that he would have three full years with her. Years he wouldn't have to share her with anyone but her blood family.

 **~oOo~**

More years passed and soon the day the miko had specified arrived. He made his way to her family shrine, where the God tree and the bone eaters well still resided, and flared his youki. It moved outward in a wave until it found her aura, then he surrounded her with it and caressed.

He was sure it was the only time he would get to caress her in any way. His beast whined when nothing happened but he tried again, and this time something happened.

"Sesshomaru." He heard his name being whispered, in _her_ voice, and looked up. He saw her in a second story window before she disappeared.

He closed his eyes briefly to savor the memory of hearing her voice and seeing her face as he remembered for the first time in just over five hundred years. His memory hadn't done her justice. His perfect memory had not captured all her little nuances, and he couldn't help being upset about that.

It meant his memory wouldn't capture those same traits before she disappeared back into the past forever.

He opened his eyes and soon she was in front of him.

"Sesshomaru." She breathed. It was like music to his ears. He wanted to hear it again.

"Miko." He addressed her, when he really wanted to use something more intimate, and looked her over. She looked like he had felt throughout the years. Obviously she was grieving for her perceived lose.

"You do not appear to be faring well now that you are back in your time." He told her, which brought her somewhat back to herself.

"How did you know I was from this time, and why are you here?" The miko asked. "Not that I'm not glad to see you." She added quickly.

"You told me I was here days after the jewel returned you, and that I had become a good friend." Sesshomaru revealed, and watched her eyes widen.

"Really?! I really went back?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes. We became friends there as well." He answered, withering a little inside as he spoke the words that would return her to the past, to the one that would abuse and eventually kill her.

"Can you tell me what happened to everyone?" She asked quickly.

"I will tell you some once we are inside." Sesshomaru said as he gestured toward her house.

He ushered her back inside her home and related to her some of the major events that had happened while she was gone.

He told her what he knew about her friends and those she was closely associated with. That seemed to satisfy her and he was glad she had not asked after the half-breed, but then she asked about him, if he had ever married.

He only said that he had never mated. The one he had chosen had died without ever knowing how he felt.

Thankfully she was fine with that answer and moved on to ask about what he had been doing over the years.

This morphed into conversations every few days like he had enjoyed in the past, but sometimes it was daily conversations. These went on in between and sometimes during her studies.

Sesshomaru was amazed to learn more about her; things he had not learned of once she returned to the past. He learned the complete story of her travels through time while searching for jewel shards and fighting demons, her guilt over shattering the jewel and affecting so many lives in the process, and her inferiority complex over the love triangle between her, the half-breed, and the dead priestess.

Thinking it over he realized that she must have done that on purpose, so that they would have things to talk about. So they could speak of things she remembered telling him. It was something he was grateful for and he silently thanked her for the gift she had given him, more precious then she would have ever known.

Beyond his nonverbal thanks he trained her to mask, call on, and use her spiritual power, determined that she would be able to use them any and all ways she pleased before returning to the past.

Part of him hoped that his training would somehow change things. That she would use her power to defend herself when the time came, but he knew it would not happen. Everything would remain the same, and he would lose his Chosen all over again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 **Chapter Five** **:** A Gift for Sesshomaru

A few days had passed since Sesshomaru had enjoyed watching his Chosen graduate from high school. It had been a bittersweet day. He had been so proud of her accomplishment, especially knowing how hard she had worked to make up for her lower marks from traveling so much in the past.

But he had also been very aware that it was only a matter of time, now that the event had happened, that she would disappear from his life once again, and just as permanently as last time.

Now days had passed without a word from Kagome and he knew she was gone, had returned to the past, never to be seen again.

 _She didn't even say goodbye_. He thought morosely. He supposed he could give her the benefit of doubt. He had never been told if the well reopening had been a sudden event that didn't give her time to do anything before it would close for good.

Still, it hurt that she was gone. Hurt that she had happily rushed back to the past, into the arms of the bastard that would be her death.

Sesshomaru looked around his office in his home in the city where he had been instead of at his work office. He had wanted to be able to leave anytime should his Chosen contact him, but she hadn't and he didn't want to be there anymore.

He stood up and left the office and house altogether, and drove out to his ancestral home. Most of the lands were gone, swallowed up in the modern world, but the grounds close to his home were still there which was all that mattered to him.

He took to his true form in a flash of red light and carefully stepped over to the large tree that marked his Chosen's grave. He laid on the grass that covered her resting place, knowing it was now the closest he would ever be to her again, and grieved.

 _She's gone. My miko is gone for good_. He closed his large red eyes mournfully and remembered her smiling face at her graduation. She had been so happy and proud. He was sure it had carried her through the rest of the day.

He knew that at this point she would be settling in the past and would still be very happy. The pain and sadness she would suffer was still far off, but it didn't change the fact that he knew it would happen.

There had been nothing he could do to stop it then and there was even less he could do now. Stopping her from returning would have been the only thing, but she would have been unhappy. She would have blamed him for keeping her from her friends and the one she loved.

 _Her beloved half-breed._ He thought with a snarl.

And if he had tried the truth, tried to tell her what would happen to her she wouldn't have believed him. She would've accused him of lying to her, and then defended the half-breed, convinced that the whelp could never do the things he described.

It was up in the air if she would've continued to speak to him after that. That was assuming if he had been successful in keeping her from the past.

Sesshomaru sighed gustily and remembered their conversations, both past and present, and lost himself in the memory of her voice, her smile, her laugh.

They were all he had left of her.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Rin and Shippo pulled up to their childhood home in their dark green car. Rin kept her eyes on the large white dog as her mate parked the car.

They had gotten a call that the Lord of the West had been in his true form for weeks just lying under a tree. They had been informed that he had not moved since his arrival. Not to eat, not to stretch, and not at the approach of anyone.

Rin knew there were few around who still remembered that it wasn't just a tree on the property, but a grave marker for a very special person.

Once the car stopped Rin practically jumped out of the car and ran toward her father, leaving Shippo behind with their luggage. For him to be acting this way she knew that Kagome must have returned to the past. He was grieving all over again or simply continuing after the break he had with her the last three years.

"Father!" She called to him as she knelt next to his head, and watched as a red eye was slowly revealed before it focused on her.

"Come back. You can't stay like this indefinitely." She said. "Well..you can since this is who you really are, but you at least need to get up and walk around and eat something."

Sesshomaru gazed at his daughter. She was all grown, a mother multiple times over, and happy, but right now she was so sad looking at him.

He could not change that. Him being happy or at least well enough would please her, but he could not be that way. He could not force happiness; could not even force a vague contentment. He never had been able to, never wanted to, and certainly couldn't now that his Chosen was back in a past that would lead to her death.

His beast whined and he couldn't hold it in as he closed his eyes. She was gone. His Chosen, his miko, his Kagome was gone. She may be alive in the past at that very moment, but he was over five hundred years away in the present and she was long dead.

She should not have died so young and in such a brutal manner. She should have lived a long life, should have been able to help people, should have been able to have children, should have been able to so many things.

Sesshomaru was tired, so tired of grieving; tired of being in constant pain. Having Kagome for three years was something he wouldn't change, but with her gone the pain was worse than before.

 _ **Then why stay?**_ His beast suddenly said. _**We befriended and helped her just as she said we did. Rin and Shippo are grown and have no need of further guidance. Our duties are done. We can finally rest and join our Chosen.**_

He considered his beast's words and had to agree. There was no longer anything keeping him there. His children may be unhappy about it but they would get over it. They had each other to lean on.

It was time to go to his Chosen, his Kagome.

Sesshomaru opened his eyes again and looked to Rin. She had always been good at knowing his mind just by looking into his eyes.

Rin gasped, understanding instantly that he was saying goodbye.

"No. You have stay. Please!" She begged him as tears began to fall from her eyes. "You're still needed. _I_ still need you."

Shippo jogged over to the pair, having finished putting their bags inside, and saw his mate crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he knelt at her side.

"He wants to leave us! He's going to let himself die!" She answered sadly.

"No." Shippo breathed out, and frowned. He didn't want his father to leave them, but he could also understand why he wanted to.

"Kagome wouldn't want you to do this. She would want you to live a happy life." He tried to say to the male that had become the father he had lost so long ago, but he could tell that it had no effect. He even understand why. Kagome wouldn't know what it was like for a demon to lose his Chosen.

"Maybe you'll find her reincarnation." Rin suggested weakly, but they all knew it wouldn't be the same. It would be her soul but a completely different person, and Sesshomaru had chosen Kagome and not simply her soul.

Rin and Shippo furiously tried to think of something, anything to say to get him to change his mind.

"You could be put into a healing sleep for however long you need. It could be months or years to give you a chance to heal." Shippo suggested to his father. "And if that doesn't work then you can still end things your way." He added with resigned sigh.

Rin looked back and forth between them and nodded her silent approval of the plan. She didn't like that he would still be gone in a way, but if it helped him heal then she could deal with it.

And if it didn't work then she would be satisfied that he had given it a try.

Sesshomaru considered the suggestion thoughtfully. He would be asleep and wouldn't feel. If he was lucky he would spend the entire time in dreams of his miko, memories of them talking, and not be aware that they were memories.

He had never been the fanciful type but if the memory dreams didn't come then he hoped she herself would come to him. She would either help him move pass the loss of her, though he doubted that, or she would bring him to her faster.

He sat up slowly, feeling incredibly weak, and shifted into his humanoid form. He looked to his children and huffed wearily.

"I will do this." He agreed to the plan before he focused on his son. "You will take care of all the arrangements."

Shippo nodded and helped his father to his feet and helped him walk to the palace.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Sesshomaru lay on his bed, the same one he lay his Chosen's freshly cleaned body on centuries ago, and closed his eyes. He briefly considered putting up a barrier around his room, but there was no need. It was only a thought that occurred because he was in his ancestral home.

He didn't care if someone came and killed him while he slept. It would only send him to his Chosen quicker. Instead he relaxed and waited for his son to apply the magic that would send him to sleep.

The ghostly figure of a woman slowly appeared unnoticed next to his bed. She had long black hair, wore traditional red and white priestess clothing, armor over her upper body, and a sword at her hip.

She looked at the weary demon lord in sympathy and compassion. This was her last task. This would ensure events of the past changed for the better, maybe in more ways than just for the demon lord and the young priestess.

She gently touched Sesshomaru's head and disappeared from the room.

It wasn't long before Sesshomaru felt himself drift off. He wanted to sigh in relief as his pain eased, but just as quickly he realized he shouldn't even be aware of the difference if it had worked properly.

His eyes snapped on and he was greeted by fog; fog everywhere and as far as his eyes could see. He was confused. He didn't know all the details of the magic involved but he didn't think he was supposed to be aware of such a strange place.

Off to his side he sensed movement and looked over to see a silhouette moving forward, becoming more defined and clear the closer it came, until it was revealed to be a priestess. She had long black hair, wore the usual red and white clothes of a priestess, and carried a sword. He knew of only one priestess in history that carried a sword.

"Priestess Midoriko." He greeted.

"Lord Sesshomaru." She greeted in return.

"Where are we, and why are we here?" He asked, deciding to get right down to business.

"We are in your mind." Midoriko replied calmly. "You are here at the behest of your children and to escape your pain, and I am here to give you a gift."

"I am sending you back. Back to your past to have another chance with Kagome. The situation will be different however since I gave Kagome a gift of her own before she returned to the past." She informed him.

"You will learn more about her gift once you reveal that you have returned to the past as well. I advise you to use the knowledge of her having received a gift as a way to get things started between you two." She added.

Sesshomaru was stunned, and unsure what to think. Part of him feared, actually _feared_ , that this encounter was nothing but a dream, a figment of his imagination.

 _But what if it isn't?_ He considered softly. What if he really was being given a chance to secure his Chosen's affection instead of having to stand on the sidelines as only her friend, and watch as she was abused and ultimately killed?

He nodded to himself, deciding not to question the gift, and if it was only his imagination then he would at least have a second chance in his dreams.

Midoriko nodded, understanding that he had made a silent decision.

"Good luck." She said before she turned and walked off into the fog and disappeared.

Sesshomaru looked around at the fog and watched as it began to thin. As it did he found himself becoming lightheaded and before he could form a thought everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 _ **Part Three  
**_ **Chapter Six** **:** Reunion

Sesshomaru woke in the same place he had fallen asleep, in his bedroom in his ancestral home, to the sounds of many voices, heartbeats, and footsteps. It was nothing compared to the noise of the modern era, and he easily lowered the sound internally and sat up.

He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing the usual white silk and boots he had worn in his past, and figured he had laid down to rest for a few minutes and had fallen asleep. He didn't remember doing something like that in the past, and he wasn't prone to do it in the modern era either.

It was an indication that what he was seeing wasn't a dream and was very real.

He got up and donned the armor and swords he hadn't needed in centuries, and went to his study. He reviewed his paperwork and immediately knew that the legendary priestess had sent him back around the time his Chosen had returned to the past.

He smiled to himself before he cleared his expression and left the room. It was time to see if she had returned or if he still had some time to wait.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

The sun was lowering in the sky when Sesshomaru reached the forest bordering the village in Edo. He began to delicately sniff the air searching the scents in the area.

He caught the half-breed's scent and his eyes flashed red and his beast snarled. He knew himself well enough to know he was not ready to see the whelp, let alone hear his voice or speak to him.

He caught the scents of the rest of the half-breeds group drifting from the village as well as the kit and his wards, his son and daughter. Then the scent he was hoping to smell came drifting to him from the direction of the well, and he rushed through the forest until he could see the well clearing. He slowed to a stop and watched her from the cover of the trees.

She sat on the lip of the well just looking around seemingly enjoying the scenery and atmosphere. She looked so calm and peaceful, and he wondered if she had returned that day or if she had been back a while.

He moved forward, leaving the cover of the trees, and began to calmly walk across the clearing toward her. He could see she was wearing a silver white yukata with purple butterflies on the fabric and thought she looked lovely. He could also tell from just seeing the stitching that it was made in the future.

As she stood he could hear her heart pounding and watched her nervous movements. He wondered what that was all about, but it let him know that this was likely their first meeting since she'd been back.

"Miko." He said and watched her smile.

"Sesshomaru." She said and he found his own heart beginning to pound.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

"It is my understanding that you received a gift before you returned here." Sesshomaru said, deciding not to waste any time in getting things started between them.

"How..how did you know?" Kagome asked as she blinked her eyes wide in shock.

"I was visited as well and received a gift before I was sent back." He replied.

Kagome blinked, her mind working quickly to put the pieces together.

"Sent back?" She repeated breathlessly, and watched him nod regally. "Are you my Sesshomaru?" She asked hesitantly. "The same one who's helped me these past few years?"

"Yes." He answered positively.

Kagome smiled brightly and moved forward and hugged him, careful of his armor, as tight as her arms and his armor would allow.

Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her and lightly rubbed her back, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. She was there, healthy, happy, and alive. More importantly she wasn't married to the half-breed.

"I'm so happy you're here! I wanted to talk to you before I left but my family kept me busy, and then the well reopened and I didn't want to risk it closing." She explained as she looked up at him. "So I decided to leave early so I could have a better chance of seeing your past self."

"Well here I am." Sesshomaru said. "However, before you tell me whatever it was you were unable to say I would like to know what your gift was."

"Oh, right." Kagome said as she released him and moved to sit back on the well. "The night of my graduation day I went to sleep and woke up in a foggy place where Midoriko appeared and told me that she was there to give me a gift for all I had done with the sacred jewel. The gift was showing me my life once I returned to the past. We would watch whatever would happen without being seen."

"And that's exactly what happened." She said as Sesshomaru sat next to her. "I was very excited; thinking I would see my happy life married to Inuyasha with my friends surrounding us."

She explained that the first thing she had seen was her returning to the past, climbing out of the well, and walking toward the village. She met Inuyasha halfway there, and they hugged as they greeted each other. Then they continued on to the village as they talked.

"The second thing I saw was my wedding. The third was the two of us talking right here in the well clearing. Midoriko said it had been four weeks since the wedding." She said as she looked at the grass at her feet.

"You learned that Inuyasha and I were married, and was surprised by it. I learned that he didn't mate me. I also came to understand that marriage and mating were two different things. Midoriko explained that the reason you didn't know I was married was because I wasn't mated."

Kagome went on to explain that the fourth scene, according to Midoriko, was ten years later. She had seen herself sitting in a large hut with Sango, Miroku, their children, and a girl named Myu. She'd learned that Keade had died by that point and that Myu was the village priestess. And that Rin and Shippo were mated and living with him.

The version of her sitting in the hut felt Sesshomaru's youki flare and had gone and met him at the well once again. Her ankle had been injured and she'd told him that Inuyasha had pushed her and she had fallen wrong. She had made an excuse and he had basically told her not to justify Inuyasha hurting her while he healed her ankle.

The fifth scene had her and Midoriko appearing inside a dark hut to find her lying face down on the floor, unconscious. It had taken two flares of his youki for her to wake up. She had made a bit of an effort to make herself presentable, found her sandals, grabbed her bow and arrows and stumbled out of the village toward him.

She'd fallen a few times before she came upon him in her path. He'd taken her to a hot spring and cleaned her while she explained that she and Inuyasha had fought because he had wanted her to stop being friends with Sesshomaru and she had refused, unwilling to give up his friendship.

The sixth scene they had appeared outside that same hut at night and could hear growls, scuffs, and other distressing sounds. The sounds stopped after a while and Inuyasha came out and left.

Kagome explained that she had noticed his eyes go from red to amber, which had been disturbing considering what she had thought was going on in there. And she had also noticed that the sacred beads around his neck were gone.

A few minutes later she stumbled out of the hut, barefoot without any weapons, and left the village and eventually made her way to the well where she collapsed next to it. As it got brighter outside they could finally see her wounds and knew from everything they had seen so far that she had been raped.

She explained that she had no idea how much time passed before Sesshomaru showed up but when he pulled out Tensiga she realized that she was dead. Had died at some point while they had been standing there watching her.

She then described how they had followed as he brought her body back to his home, passing Rin and Shippo, and to his room where he cleaned her body. It was then that she realized he had meant her when he said the one he had chosen died without knowing how he felt.

After that he had somehow realized that Rin was going to miscarry and then he left to hunt down Inuyasha. When he had found him she heard his reason for what he did and his ignorance of her death, then watched as Sesshomaru killed him. The last thing she saw was him taking the black pearl and Tessaiga, and melting his body.

"After that we returned to the foggy place where we started and Midoriko told me I had a choice to make since the well would reopen soon. Obviously I had to decide on staying in my time or returning to the past, and if I returned then what exactly was I going to do." Kagome finished with a shrug.

Sesshomaru listened to every word Kagome spoke, remembering all the events he had been present for. Hearing her also convinced him that he really wasn't dreaming. After all, he couldn't make up details of events he hadn't been there for.

He found himself sorry that she knew exactly how she had died, but was glad she didn't actually witness the assault. What he was glad about was that her eyes had been opened to the half-breed's character. He wasn't misunderstood and didn't know how to express himself. He was a selfish bastard who wanted what he wanted, and did what he wanted regardless of who he hurt.

He also found himself irritated with the fact that he worried about what she would think of him killing the bastard. As far as he was concerned the whelp deserved it. Deserved _more_ than what he got actually, but he had been too enraged and grief stricken to prolong his death.

Beyond that he thought it was a very fitting gift that the legendary priestess had given the miko, and he very much hoped she would decide to change her future for the better.

"Those events are true. At least from my point of view." He confirmed, and Kagome nodded. She hadn't doubted what she had seen, but it was still nice for the information to be confirmed.

"So what was your gift?" She asked curiously.

"Being sent back to have another chance with you." He replied easily.

"Oh." Kagome said with a blush as she looked away. _Well that was obvious._ She thought.

"I had wanted to ask you some things before I returned to the past. I thought it would help me make better decisions." She said as she looked back to him, and watched him nod.

"Ask what you will." He said.

"Can you tell me what you know about Inuyasha during my time away?" She asked. "I wonder about what his behavior has been and what he's been doing with himself."

"He has spent the years you have been away mostly away from the village sleeping around with human women. He did the same during your marriage." Sesshomaru revealed. "I kept my distance from him but I could still smell his scent, and was able to tell from that alone what he had been doing. It was not just from visiting the village that I learned of this, but from patrolling my lands."

Kagome's eyes widened at what she heard. Inuyasha was sleeping around with other women while she had been in her time focused on her studies, training her powers in preparation for living in the past, and all the while still loving him and turning down advances from guys that were interested in her.

 _I suppose I can tell myself he's an adult and has needs, but I'm not even going to try and go there, especially with Sesshomaru revealing that his behavior continued after I returned and married him._

That actually had been her next question. If Inuyasha had cheated on her during the marriage. She now knew that he had, with frequency. Aside from the glaring fact of his unfaithfulness it let her know that he couldn't have done it out of need.

They were married and he should have come to her with his needs, but he hadn't. At least not during those weeks after their marriage. She hadn't asked Midoriko if she knew if they had ever been intimate. The fact that they hadn't had children after ten years made her think not.

"How many times did you heal me?" She asked.

"Many times." Sesshomaru answered. "It seemed after a certain point I was healing you every time I visited, if not from a physical wound then emotionally." He continued and she nodded.

"Did Sango and Miroku know what was happening in my marriage?" She asked.

"I am not sure, but I think they either did not know or they were willfully blind." He answered with a frown. "Your friendship with them had changed over the years after your return. They had children and you did not, so they became closer to villagers that did have children. They were still your friends but they grew distant all the same."

"Did they ever learn of my death?" Kagome asked.

"Not from me." He stated. "They lived in the same village as you, and were your friends. There was no excuse for them to not know what had been happening between you and the half-breed, and if they did know they ignored it and did nothing to help you. As far as I was concerned they did not deserve to know. Though, it is possible the kit told them at some point, but I never asked since I did not care."

"Well, do you know why I accepted not being the village priestess?" She asked.

"I believe you were not really given a choice. From my understanding the half-breed made his feelings on you not being the village priestess known to you and you went with what he wanted. The girl was brought in and you and everyone else in the village welcomed her, and you had even taken on the task of teaching and guiding the girl since she was not up to your standards." He explained.

"The abuse had started by then so that may also have factored into why you did not fight it." He added.

Kagome nodded and took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she thought over the new information.

"We both know how I died." She stated. "Was that my first time?" She asked hesitantly, and Sesshomaru nodded reluctantly.

"You were untouched until that point." He said quietly.

Kagome nodded. She had her answer, but pushed it aside. There was nothing more to think on about that subject. She would like to imagine that in the last years she was glad she didn't have to deal with those particular needs of his, but she didn't think her other self had felt that way.

"How often did you visit me, and when did you develop feelings for me?" She asked shyly, deciding her other questions could wait for later.

Sesshomaru readily revealed that he had begun developing feelings for her soon after she returned to the past, and had visited her every few days. He had it in his mind to court her and woo her away from Inuyasha since even he knew she had returned in part because of her feelings for him.

In the following weeks he had gotten busy with meetings with the other lords and had put off courting until he could devote the proper attention to it. He hadn't worried about taking his time because he made sure to visit her and Rin during that time, and he had never seen a mating mark or a mark of any kind and she still smelled pure.

"What do you plan to do with the knowledge of my affections, and your feelings for the half-breed?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I decided before I came back to treat this situation like I would if two guys were interested in me. I still love Inuyasha but I'm uncomfortable and wary in his presence." Kagome said with a sigh.

"Regardless of my feelings, if that doesn't change then there will be nothing between us, not even friendship. Beyond that, I can't deny that you're attractive and you being my best friend along with the knowledge of your affection combines to make me interested in you." She explained and he blinked slowly.

"I did not realize you considered me your best friend." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"I began to think that way after seeing my future. My mind just automatically switched to referring to you that way when I was thinking over all I had learned, and it is true, the term fits." She said, and he nodded.

"I am honored you consider me your best friend." Sesshomaru said. "I would also be honored if you will allow me to court you." He added.

"I would like that very much." Kagome said with a smile. "What does it involve?" She asked.

"It is just another form of dating. We will simply date here in the past." He answered.

Kagome nodded with a smile. She had never dated and thought she would like that.

Sesshomaru reached over and gently took her hand and brought it up to his mouth, his eyes watching her the entire time. He slowly dragged his tongue across her wrist, infusing his youki into his saliva as it coated her skin. He pulled away to reveal a magenta crescent moon on the inside of her wrist.

She blushed, her heart racing, as she watched him kiss the mark. _I'm definitely attracted to him._ She thought softly as he released her hand.

"This is my courting mark. I want anyone who sees it and smells my scent on you to know exactly what is happening between us." He explained. "What do you plan on telling the half-breed when he inevitably smells me on you?" He asked, wanting to know if she would lie to the boy.

"I'll tell him the truth." Kagome stated. "I didn't tell any of them about us being friends in the future, so I'll tell Inuyasha about our friendship and that I met you during my walk and told you the same and that you asked to court me."

Sesshomaru nodded, pleased that she was more than willing let things develop between them and be open and honest with the half-breed about it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 **Chapter Seven** **:** Courting Kagome

"What do we do now?" Kagome asked.

"Why were you away from the village?" Sesshomaru asked thoughtfully.

"To get some space from Inuyasha and process everything I learned since I came through the well." She answered. "I had also hoped to see you." She added quietly.

"Well since you have done those things I am going to walk you back to the village and get started on your first courting gift." He answered.

"Can I know what it is?" Kagome asked as they stood up.

"You can, however only this one time. I am going to have a home built for you in the village." He said as they began to leave the well clearing, and watched her eyes widen.

"You will have to rely on your friends tonight, but by tomorrow night you will have your home and hopefully find it very comfortable. Then our courtship will really begin." He added.

"I can't wait." Kagome said with a smile.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome walked peacefully along the path to the village. Sesshomaru had left her once they were in sight, and she had the feeling he would have taken her all the way into the village if he hadn't wanted to chance seeing Inuyasha. It was something she could understand considering what his last memories of his half-brother were.

"Kagome!" She heard her name being called and saw Inuyasha running toward her.

"I smell Sesshomaru." He said when he reached her, and she nodded calmly.

"I saw him at the well and he walked me back." Kagome said.

"That doesn't explain why his scent is so strong on you." He replied with a frown.

"That's true." She said calmly. "We talked for a while. I told him that I had met him in the future and that we had become friends. That must have made him curious or something because he asked to court me."

"What?!" Inuyasha said, completely shocked.

"And I accepted." She added in a matter of fact tone as she showed him her wrist where the courting mark sat. She loved him but she was also interested in Sesshomaru, and despite her love for Inuyasha there had never been anything between them. She had hoped and wished but it had always been her feelings being obvious and known and him not doing anything about it.

Inuyasha knew exactly what the mark was as soon as he saw it, and didn't like it one bit. He could smell the bastards scent stronger there, and knew it wasn't going anywhere unless she decided against him. He frowned and growled slightly as he looked behind her.

"Sesshomaru!" He yelled the bastards name as he began to run in the direction she had come from.

Kagome watched for a few moments before she shrugged and continued walking, not at all worried about her best friend since she knew he was long gone. Not that there would be anything to be worried about if he was still around. She knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself.

Inuyasha's reaction was only half of what she had expected. He was clearly upset that she had accepted Sesshomaru's courtship, but he hadn't asked about what that meant for the two of them. She thought he either didn't care enough about their possible relationship or he hadn't thought that far and would say something later. She supposed she would see.

She walked pass huts and people going about their business and made her way to Sango and Miroku's hut.

"It's Kagome." She called after she knocked on the wall next to the doorway, and entered when they called for her to come in.

She moved the hanging mat aside and stepped in and moved toward her friends and their children.

"Did you enjoy your walk?" Miroku asked as she sat down.

"Yes. It was peaceful and surprising." She replied.

"Surprising?" Sango repeated curiously.

"Yeah. I met Sesshomaru and we caught up. Then he asked to court me, and I accepted." Kagome said as she showed them the courting mark on her wrist.

Sango and Miroku looked at her wrist and her in surprise.

"Why would you be interested in a being like him? After all he has done?" Miroku asked as he glanced as his daughters playing nearby.

"Yes why? He even abandoned Rin in the village." Sango said with a frown as she adjusted her hold on her son. "He still visits her but she's obviously not living with him."

"When did you two become so judgmental?" Kagome asked as she frowned. "Did you ever ask him why he suddenly left Rin here? Did you ever ask _her_?"

"No. We simply assumed he was leaving her here to be with other humans." Miroku said.

"That isn't the case at all. If it was he would've left her in some random village when she first started traveling with him." She said, giving them a disappointed look. "He let Rin live here so she would be close to Shippo, her only friend, and even if that wasn't the case and you were right, he still provides for her and makes sure she has everything she needs."

They were quiet after that with only the sounds of the children playing quietly as they thought over her words.

"What about Inuyasha?" Sango asked and Miroku looked on interestedly.

"I still love him but I don't know if I want to spend the rest of my life with him." Kagome replied with a sigh. "Sesshomaru and I are...were friends in my time, so when he asked to court me I decided to agree and see what came of it."

"Look, I've never been courted before and Inuyasha is the only guy I've had feelings for. If I still feel strongly for him even with Sesshomaru courting me then he's the right one for me. If my feelings for him begin to fade then I made the right decision to see what else is out there." She explained, and Sango and Miroku exchanged a long look.

"Okay Kagome. You do what you think is best for you. Just promise you'll be careful. This is Sesshomaru after all." Sango said.

"Yes. We understand you befriended him in your time, but the Sesshomaru here is younger, knows nothing of your time, and is still one to be very wary of." Miroku reminded her, and she nodded.

"I'll be careful guys." Kagome assured them, knowing that she didn't need to be. They didn't know that her Sesshomaru, her best friend, was there in place of the younger, and she had no intention of ever telling them. That was something strictly between her and Sesshomaru.

"So what do you plan to do now that you're back?" Sango asked curiously.

"Any ideas on where you are going to live?" Miroku added with a frown, trying to think if she wanted to stay with them or Keade until they could get her a place built.

"Oh we don't have to worry about finding a place for me to live. Sesshomaru's first courting gift to me is a home built in the village." Kagome revealed, much to their astonishment. "I just need a place to stay for the night since he assured me I would be sleeping in my own home tomorrow night."

"As for what I plan to do now that I'm back I plan on learning all I can from Keade and taking care of Rin and Shippo. I think that along with being courted by Sesshomaru will keep me busy enough." She added.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

When Inuyasha realized Sesshomaru was long gone he slowed to a stop before he started walking around and thinking about the crazy thing he had just learned. Kagome and Sesshomaru were courting.

He couldn't believe it. She was his Kagome and she was allowing that bastard to court her; had even allowed him to put a mark on her.

 _Why would she do that when she loves me? Returned to this time for me. What is she thinking?!_ He wondered with a low growl.

 _She said they were friends in her time, but what if they were more?_ He wondered possessively. _Is that why she agreed to let him court her? Maybe it's something they planned and she returned here so they could have more time together. I wouldn't put it pass the bastard_.

As Inuyasha reached the large God tree he had spent a portion of his life pinned to he was reminded of Kikyou as always, which reminded him of Kagome, and he shook his head.

His Kagome wasn't like that. She wouldn't have planned something like that, and the bastard's future self had to be different than his present self. She couldn't have known he would want to court her, but she had still accepted, why?

 _Maybe it's because I didn't say anything about what the two of us would be to each other. That has to be it._ He thought with a frown. He actually hadn't thought he had to say anything. Kagome loved him and came back for him, even said she was there to stay, so he hadn't seen a reason to say anything.

He had kept close to her since her return. That should have been enough to let his desires be known. Plus she had _just_ returned. There was no need to hurry. Of course now he knew there had been, but he had never expected Sesshomaru of all beings coming along and wanting her.

 _That bastard won't have her! She's mine; just as Kikyou was mine. She's Kikyou returning to me. She returned to free me from the tree she sealed me to, and now she's returned to be with me for good_. He thought possessively. He needed to talk to her. She was his but she had accepted that bastard for a reason and he wanted to know why.

Inuyasha ran toward the village and once he arrived he searched out Kagome's scent and found her in Sango and Miroku's hut. He could hear them talking about nothing important so he called out to her.

"Can I talk to you in private?" He asked, deciding to be nice about it instead of his usual gruff self.

"Sure." Kagome agreed and they walked in silence back the way he had come until they reached the God tree.

Kagome sat on one of the large roots and waited, keeping her eyes on him and looking for any sudden movements even though she knew he didn't want anything other than to talk.

"Why are you allowing the bastard to court you?" Inuyasha finally asked.

"I've never been courted before and since I consider him a friend I decided to give him a chance and see what it's like while I'm at it." She answered casually.

"What about us?" He asked quietly.

"I still love you but you never said you wanted to be with me. You've stayed close to me since I got back but that's it, so I figured I would see what would happen with Sesshomaru and see if my feelings for you remain the same." She explained.

"My feelings have remained the same all these years, but I didn't spend time with other guys. I feel like now that I'm here I should make sure of my feelings before entering into something permanent." She added.

Inuyasha nodded and began to pace in front of her. He was right after all. She had agreed to the courting because he hadn't said anything, and had never said anything about wanting to be with her. He just assumed after all this time that she was aware that he thought of her as his and that he wanted to be with her.

He was pleased that she still loved him and even more so that she had not been with any males in her time. He had been able to smell that she was still pure but that didn't mean she hadn't spent time around any other males. Of course now he knew she had spent time around Sesshomaru.

He of course had been with many females in her absence to take care of his needs, but she didn't need to know that. He was glad she wasn't a demon or a half demon so she couldn't smell the females on him.

Still, despite his actions while she was away she was still his. She loved him and was only giving the bastard a chance because he had said nothing about wanting her.

 _That doesn't mean I can't say anything now. I'll tell her that I want her and ask to court her, and hopefully she'll reject the bastard_. He thought as he stopped pacing.

"I should've said something when you first got here. I just thought you already knew." He said as he looked to her. "I want to be with you Kagome. Will you let me court you?"

Kagome blinked and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had thought this conversation might happen but she hadn't even considered that he might ask to court her.

 _Will he give me a courting mark as well? Can I even have more than one?_ She considered thoughtfully. _Sesshomaru made it seem like I could be in a courtship with more than one person when he asked after I explained how I planned on dealing with him and Inuyasha._

 _Then again maybe I should be asking myself if I actually want him to give me a courting mark_. She thought, considering how Sesshomaru had done it. Just thinking about it made her feel uneasy. She didn't want Inuyasha that close to her.

But at the same time she wondered if he would actually give her one. Just like he had chosen not to mate her and marry her instead. Would he choose not to give her a courting mark and just let his word be all there was to it?

 _And I do still love him_. She thought with a quiet sigh. _But he didn't say anything about love in that little speech, and I did say I would treat the situation like two guys liking me_. She reminded herself. _So I'll give him a chance, and see if the images of him abusing another me or the evidence of it fade from my mind_.

"Yes." Kagome answered with a nod, but suddenly held back a frown. _Would he have said anything about courting me and wanting to be with me if Sesshomaru hadn't asked to court me? Or rather if Sesshomaru hadn't marked me?_

She doubted it and it made her rethink giving him permission to court her. But she still loved him and wanted to give him a chance! She was so conflicted, and didn't know what to do.

"Let's go tell the others." Inuyasha said with a smirk.

Kagome nodded, seeing that he obviously wasn't going to give her a courting mark, and they began to walk back toward the village. She also noticed that despite declaring he wanted to be with her and getting permission to court her he wasn't holding her hand.

 _Is it just a modern thing, and I shouldn't expect it?_ She wondered, but reminded herself that she had seen other people, including Sango and Miroku, hold hands.

Inuyasha had even held her hand back during the jewel shard hunt. It was usually when he was pulling her away from something or trying to hurry her along, but he had done it so it wasn't an unusual thing.

 _Do I really want him holding my hand?_ She wondered as she glanced down to his clawed hand.

She couldn't help recalling the claw marks and bruises on her future self, and decided that she really didn't want him holding her hand.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Sesshomaru could barely believe this was happening. He was actually back in the past and courting his Chosen. He was so very pleased that she had agreed.

What really surprised him though was the gift the legendary priestess had given Kagome. It was definitely advantageous to have gotten a glimpse of her future. He hated that she had seen some of it, but was pleased that she would understand him better. That gift had allowed her to see his feelings for her without him having to say anything.

Considering his personality that was a plus. He had become more talkative through the centuries, but he wasn't one to hold conversations if he didn't have to and didn't want to.

Still, he had been fully intent on telling her of his feelings before he knew what her gift had been, and of course he would be talking to her as he courted her. They had gotten some major questions out of the way but there was still more to discuss. Like how she could still possibly have feelings for that bastard half breed despite what she had seen him do to her. Not just feelings, but love for him.

Even with the love she still felt for the half-breed Sesshomaru was determined she would never be with him. The obvious care and love he would show her, and her admitted uncomfortable and uneasy feelings around the half-breed would work in his favor.

Kagome was his Chosen and would be his mate as soon as she was ready. He was positive of that. They would raise Rin and Shippo and any other pups they had at his home, and she would live the life she should have had. She would even get to see her family again. She would be happy and healthy. He would make sure of it.

Sesshomaru also considered that with a mate he would be able to protect his ancestral lands to the best of his ability. He definitely wanted to make sure they didn't become what they had become in the future.

Having a mate would give him the connection to the land he didn't have. At present it was his territory and he protected it fiercely, but he couldn't protect it the way it needed to be without a mate. It would be a symbiotic relationship. He protected the land, and the land granted him more power when he needed to protect, as long as he was mated.

His connection to the land would allow the land to feel his connection to his mate and reassure it that he wasn't going to abandon the land, and would provide the next generation to protect it.

 _That was probably the only reason my mother and father mated_. He considered thoughtfully. _That and to have a powerful heir._

Sesshomaru obviously refused to do that. He was not willing to tie himself to a female for life just to establish that connection with the land. He was fiercely protective of what was his, and that included his land, but it would be counterproductive to make himself unhappy doing it.

He wouldn't have to worry about that this time; wouldn't have to watch his land slowly dying. He would mate his Chosen and make the connection to his land, and keep it and his family safe as long as he lived.

As he flew toward his home he turned his mind toward his Chosen's first courting gift. Her home in the village of Edo.

He visualized the village boundaries and considered that she would want to be close to her friends, but he wanted her to have privacy. He wanted it for himself as well so he didn't have to actually enter the village to see her.

 _Less chance of seeing the half-breed as well. Not to mention she will need to be in walking distance of her friends, but far enough away that no one can see or hear what is going on in her home_. He considered.

Sesshomaru recalled the huts in villages in this time were all close together, no doubt for protection against human bandits and demons. Not to mention any other calamity that befell them.

With those thoughts in mind he began to mentally design her home. He reminded himself that the building had to actually look like it belonged in that time. If her friends saw it looking completely different than the huts they were used to they would become suspicious that she had told him of the future.

They would most likely give her a hard time about telling her secret to him of all beings. Then there was the possibility that one or more of them might be quick enough to realize she didn't have the time to tell him before the building started. Who knew what their imaginations would come up with and how it would affect his Chosen.

He would have to be careful with that, but he would make sure she was comfortable.

When he arrived home he went straight to his study and began to sketch what was forming in his mind, and grabbed a separate paper and jotted down a list of everything that would be needed to build her home and go inside it for her comfort.

He then called for builders, craftsmen, and seamstresses to attend him as soon as possible, so he could thoroughly instruct them on exactly what he wanted.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome opened her eyes in the morning and glanced at the small warm bodies of Rin and Shippo curled up against her then looked around the hut, seeing Keade's sleeping form. She had spent the night in Keade's hut with her, Rin, and Shippo with Inuyasha staying on the roof as was his want.

She closed her eyes and remembered how she and Inuyasha had made it back to the village and to Sango and Miroku's hut, but found they weren't there so they went to Keade's hut and found everyone except Rin and Shippo there.

Inuyasha had announced that they were courting and Sango and Miroku were confused and asked about Sesshomaru, much to Inuyasha's irritation, and she had informed them that nothing had changed. Inuyasha would just be courting her as well.

She recalled how everyone except Keade had had a problem with her decision. Sango and Miroku looked uneasy and worried and Inuyasha had looked upset. He probably thought she would reject Sesshomaru once she had accepted him.

 _"Why are you still going to see that bastard when I'm courting you now?" Inuyasha asked, and Kagome frowned at him and held in a caustic reply._

 _"Because I want to." She answered instead. "Did you think just because you finally said you wanted to be with me that I would drop Sesshomaru's request? If you feel so threatened by him then I can easily withdraw my consent and allow you to walk away with your dignity intact."_

 _Inuyasha didn't reply and said nothing about her decision to allow Sesshomaru to court her._

Kagome held in a sigh. She was glad he hadn't said anything more on the subject. She just wanted to get on with her life and not argue about it.

Keade woke up then and Rin and Shippo soon after her. The small group made breakfast and ate quietly.

"When do ye wish to begin training?" Keade asked as they ate.

"As soon as possible." Kagome answered promptly.

Keade nodded and told her to meet her at noon in a certain field that was close to the village, but on the opposite end away from the well clearing. She instructed her to meditate and center herself if she arrived before her.

Kagome nodded and after she finished eating she bid the children goodbye and made her way to the field Keade described. She placed a barrier around herself for protection and began to meditate. After a while she sensed Keade arrive and opened her eyes to find that it was noon already. She easily released her barrier and stood up.

"Since ye can already put up a barrier around ye-self we will start with putting barriers around other people and objects." Keade said and began to talk her through the process.

Kagome was able to get it quickly and Keade seeing this decided to talk her through forming her power into physical objects. She herself wasn't powerful enough for that but she knew Kagome was.

"Come on wench. We got somewhere to be." Inuyasha said as he ran up and interrupted her lesson.

"Inuyasha! Can't you see I'm busy?" Kagome objected with a frown.

"You don't need these lessons since I'll be protecting you." He said as he crossed his arms.

Kagome frowned, not at all agreeing with that, but before she could say anything Keade spoke up.

"Ye can go child. Ye are being courted after all. We will simply continue tomorrow." She said.

Kagome pursed her lips and decided that Inuyasha rudely interrupting her lesson and saying she didn't need to learn were marks against him.

"Where are we going?" She asked with a heavy sigh.

"To slay a demon close to the next village over." He answered as they walked.

"But I don't have a weapon." She pointed out.

"That's fine since I'll be doing all the work." He said dismissively, and Kagome raised an irritated eyebrow.

"So I'm just coming along to keep you company?" She asked.

Inuyasha blushed and refused to answer. She realized then that Keade was right. This was his attempt at courting her. Taking her along on a slaying job.

 _If he thinks this is going to endear me to him he's in for a rude awakening, especially with the way he's thinking_. She thought with a frown. To take her to kill a demon without a weapon was highly dangerous. It was a good thing she could now use her powers without a weapon.

 _I won't be telling him that though_. She thought as she held in a sigh.

"What do you know about this demon?" She asked, wanting to know what she was headed into.

 **~oOo~**

Kagome sat with her friends in Sango and Miroku's hut talking about their day while Rin and Shippo sat on each side of her. It had only been about an hour since she and Inuyasha returned from their trip to slay the demon, which she had indeed stood by and watched him do, swinging his sword wildly around as usual.

As they talked she suddenly felt a familiar youki blanket her body and caress. She held in a pleased sigh. He had not done that since the first time he came to her in her time. She stood up and excused herself before she headed toward the doorway.

"Where're you going?" Inuyasha asked.

"None of your business." She replied without even looking at him.

She walked out of the hut and made her way toward Sesshomaru's youki as the last of the light was fading from the sky, and couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her face at the sight of him.

"Hi." Kagome said as she reached him.

"Good evening Kagome." He said quietly. "I have come to show you your new home."

Her eyes widened in surprise as she followed him. He had said she would have it by that night, but it was still hard to believe that it had been built already.

"Is it really done?" She asked in a surprised whisper.

"See for yourself." He said as he gestured ahead of them.

At a slight distance on a slight incline was a large hut that actually looked more like a modern cabin to her eyes. As they got closer she could see that it was slightly rectangular and had a door, an actual _door_ , with a doorknob.

The door was in the center of the structure with a window off on the left side near the top of a slightly sloped roof and there was clearly light coming from the inside. There was what looked like a medium sized trunk next to the door raised off the ground.

She looked to Sesshomaru and he nodded.

"Go ahead. It is yours." He said with a slight smile.

Kagome smiled and hurried ahead. She stopped in front of the trunk and lifted the lid to find it full of obviously chopped wood. She smiled at the thoughtful action and closed the lid. She then moved toward the door and opened it and stepped inside.

She took a few steps forward as she looked around. She immediately noticed the wood floors that looked like they had somehow been sanded smooth and made shiny. She saw another window near the top of the ceiling on the wall right across from the door, and both windows had what was clearly curtains on the sides just long enough to cover the openings when closed.

To her left on the side wall of the hut was a makeshift fireplace with a merry fire burning in it. It had the usual pit built into the floor and a stone chimney going up the wall. On the left of the fireplace in the corner was a drying rack, and on the right were two chests.

In the center of the room was a wooden square floor table. To her right were silk hangings tied open to reveal a rather large raised bed. She moved closer and saw there was another window on the wall to her left. A lamp sitting on a small stand in the corner, and two more chests sitting in the opposite corner.

She opened one and saw that it contained what looked like silks or clothes. After staring at it a long moment she realized that it was extra covers for her bed. The other chest contained clothes to her surprise, all silk.

She moved to the bed and pressed her hands on it, feeling the softness, then sat on it and sighed at the feel. She had been prepared to spend a great deal of time sleeping on a mat on the floor, but now she had a soft bed with covers that would ensure she would be warm and well rested.

Kagome turned to head back toward the center of the room where she could Sesshomaru waiting but something about the window caught her eye. She stepped over to it and stared before she stood on her toes and first touched then pulled at a little latch that was off to the side but somehow inside the wood wall.

As she pulled she discovered that it was a tiny rice paper door. A rice paper screen for her windows. Thin enough to let in light but sturdy enough to keep out wind and rain. She couldn't believe it. Screens and curtains would give her new home protection from the elements and keep in the warmth, but also keep people from seeing inside.

She grinned and closed the silk curtains then turned and hurried pass Sesshomaru, shooting him a grin and seeing the door closed, and went to the chests sitting on the floor next to the makeshift fireplace.

One chest she saw contained pillows and she realized from the location of the chest that they were for sitting at the floor table. The other chest contained only a tea set and some bowls, plates, and utensils, but there was plenty room for more items.

She closed the lid then stood and moved around and closed the screen and curtains on the other two windows before she moved back to Sesshomaru and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you." Kagome said softly as she held him, undeterred by his armor. He had built her a cabin like hut and made it a home. He had given her more than a home though. He had given her independence, comfort, and security.

"You are more than welcome. I hope you feel comfortable here." Sesshomaru said as he returned her hug. "I suggest you use your powers so you will feel safe. The last thing I want is the half-breed to get in here and hurt you." He added and felt her nod.

"I can do that right now." She said as she released him.

"You should." He said as he let his hands slide away from her. "And when you finish I would appreciate spending some time with you."

"I would like that." She said with a smile before she led the way back outside and closed the door.

Kagome put her hands on the door and closed her eyes. She called on her power and thought of what she wanted.

 _I want to protect my new home so no weapon or attack from anyone less powerful than me can damage it. I also want no one, whether they are human, half demon, or demon to be able to get in without me_. She listed silently as she focused her power.

She breathed slowly as her power flowed over the building and then sank into the wood, causing it to glow with her power before it faded.

She stepped back and looked to her companion as she explained what she had done. Sesshomaru listened then stepped forward and tried to open the door only to feel a painful sting along his fingers and palm more severe than when he first tried to pull the Tessaiga from its pedestal because it was burning his hand with purity.

"It definitely works." He said as he pulled his slightly smoking hand away. "Will there be any problems with anyone coming to visit you?" He asked as his hand healed.

"No. Anyone knocking will be fine. It's just if anyone tries to get in by force or without my permission." She reassured him and he nodded before he turned to face her.

"Would you like to go stargazing with me?" He asked and she nodded.

"I would love to." She answered readily, and smiled as he took her hand in his.

They walked away at a leisurely pace, heading toward the well clearing.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Inuyasha and Kagome walked into a large village early one afternoon. Inuyasha had picked the village since it was far from their village and there was no chance they would run into anyone he knew. Not that she knew that.

He had run them the majority of the distance, and he could tell something wasn't right. She wasn't clinging to him like he remembered her doing. He had been looking forward to that, but he figured she must still be unhappy with him for the last outing he took her on.

Last time he had taken her on an outing it had been obvious even to him that she wasn't pleased. He wasn't sure if it was because he had interrupted her lesson, if he took her to kill a demon without a weapon or if he took her to kill a demon at all.

He figured this time he would take her to do something she had enjoyed doing back during the shard hunt. He remembered she called it window shopping. Looking at things you couldn't buy when you didn't have any money, something people apparently did all the time in her time. She had no money so that's what she was going to do, and he would watch.

 _I hope she enjoys herself, and forgets about that bastard while she's at it_. He thought.

It still burned him with jealousy that that bastard had built her an elaborate hut. At least it looked that way from the outside since he hadn't been inside. He'd actually tried to get in when she wasn't there and found his hands unexpectedly burned for the effort. It also made him angry that the bastard had brought clothes for her.

Inuyasha glanced over at her, seeing her wearing a black yukata with green swirls decorating the fabric over thin black hakama. Her bow and arrows resting casual on her back and shoulder. She looked good but he hated that she was wearing something the bastard gave her. It also irritated him a bit that she was wearing hakama. He had hoped to be able to touch her legs as he carried her.

Kagome smiled as they entered the village. She'd been uncomfortable riding on Inuyasha's back, but she'd dealt with it to get to the village they were visiting. She looked at the people going about their business and the stalls lining the main street and hummed as she began to move toward one that held hair decorations.

They spent a few hours in the village, Kagome going to all the stalls and talking to many people. She showed Inuyasha many things that interested her but he appeared to be more interested in staring at her then listening to what she had to say. That made her a bit uncomfortable. She wouldn't mind him staring if he was also paying attention to what she was saying but he wasn't.

Once she had visited the last stall they left the village and began to travel back home. They talked on the way or rather she talked to fill the silence. She couldn't help remembering all the silences she had experienced with Sesshomaru. She hadn't been uncomfortable with those.

When they arrived in the village Inuyasha walked Kagome home, and then pulled out a package from the folds of his firerat robe.

"I hope you like it." He said as he handed it to her then took off, leaving her to open it without him.

Kagome was surprised and a bit pleased. He had never given her a gift before. He must have bought it when she was preoccupied talking to someone. She went inside her home and sat at the floor table as she opened the gift. She pulled the fabric from the paper as she stood and was shocked and disturbed that it was the exact same plain dark blue yukata she had been wearing in the last three visions of her future.

She dropped it and stepped back, her mind helplessly remembering the injuries the other version of her sported while wearing that very yukata. There was no way she was wearing that yukata. It would be like accepting what she had seen in her future. Accepting that it was something that would happen.

Kagome shook her head and picked up the yukata and folded it. It was silly to think that way about a piece of clothing. What she was wearing wouldn't change the decisions she made.

However, she still didn't plan on ever wearing that yukata. It just brought bad memories to the front of her mind.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

A few days after Sesshomaru presented Kagome with her first courting gift, her new home, they were inside said home relaxing and talking. They sat on cushioned pillows at the floor table drinking tea. Sesshomaru had even removed his armor and swords. The windows were open, letting in the sunlight and fresh air, making the place feel relaxed and comfortable.

"Did Rin and Shippo live with you all the way until you reached my time after they were mated?" Kagome asked curiously.

"No. They lived with me for over two hundred years then they decided to travel the world." Sesshomaru answered. "They lived in many places but they always came back home."

"You really cared about them." She said softly.

"Of course." He said, his tone completely unashamed. "They are my children, and coming back to the past has not changed that. I just hope they will not be my only children this time."

Kagome blushed slightly at his implied meaning. That he wanted children with her. Of course she thought they had to be married first, which brought to mind the questions she still had.

"You never know." She said, not knowing what else to say. "That reminds me of a few questions I have." She added and he nodded.

"I will answer to the best of my ability." He said.

"Okay, so what is mating, and is it different than marriage?" She asked.

"Mating is very different from marriage, and even more different than how marriages are done in the future." Sesshomaru stated clearly. "With a marriage a couple has a ceremony with one to officiate and people there to witness. That's it. They are considered married from then on."

"With a mating there are no witnesses. There _can_ be depending on the type of demon, but when it comes to dog demons there are none. As no dog demon, me especially, would ever allow another male to see their female at such a vulnerable time." He explained.

"A mating ties a pairs lives together, and makes a permanent connection between them. There is no such thing as divorce in a mating. If one of the pair has a longer lifespan then that long lived individual will tie their mate's life to them allowing them to live just as long."

"Just as humans give each other rings in the future a mating gives a mating mark, so other demons and half demons are aware that that being is now unavailable and off limits in terms of life bonds. It also lets the pair feel each other's emotions, sometimes more depending on the individuals." He concluded.

Kagome listened carefully and was surprised at how much more binding a mating was than a marriage. She was also understanding exactly what it meant that Inuyasha hadn't mated her in the future she saw. They wouldn't have had that emotional connection and she wouldn't have shared his lifespan.

"Would he have known?" She asked quietly.

"Yes." He said, knowing she meant the half breed. "He would have learned these facts in his youth from his mother. Despite the fact that she was not mated to my father he still would have informed her of these things. The rest he would know instinctively."

She nodded and once again understood that Inuyasha had made a deliberate choice not to mate her in the future she saw.

Sesshomaru had said Inuyasha had cheated on her through the entire marriage. She realized that if they had been mated she would have felt his emotions while he was cheating, and he would have felt her emotions every time he assaulted her. And he obviously hadn't wanted to spend the rest of his life with her as a mating apparently would have assured.

"Now you understand the significance of the half-breed not mating you." Sesshomaru said before he shook his head. "Why are you even giving the half-breed a chance?!" He asked suddenly.

"I can understand you still having feelings for him, but you saw with your own eyes what he did to you. You heard what he said about you at the end! Not only did he sexually assault you, and was not in the _least_ sorry about it, but he insinuated that you had feelings for me. Insinuated that you were not true to him despite the fact that you were still pure." He said with a frown.

"I do not care that that future has been changed. You saw it. I saw it; I _lived_ it!" He stressed. "It does not matter that he technically has not done it yet. He is still capable, and liable to become even more dangerous when he realizes you are not going to give him what he wants!"

Kagome closed her eyes and tightened her hold on her tea cup. What he said was true. She had seen and heard it all. Though it honestly hadn't occurred to her that he might lash out at her if she didn't do what he wanted. She had been thinking it would only happen if she married him, but she guessed she was foolish for thinking that.

"I don't know. All I can say is that I'm giving him a chance because of the feelings I still have for him." She said with a helpless shrug. "I'm hoping his current behavior will somehow offset what I saw him do."

Sesshomaru looked very doubtful and unhappy, but sighed heavily and looked away.

"That is your choice, but I want nothing to do with the half-breed. I know myself well enough to know that I'm liable to kill him if even slightly provoked." He said seriously. "I will be staying clear of the half-breed, and hope he has enough sense to stay away from me."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 **Chapter Eight** **:** The Right Choice

Kagome walked to the well clearing deciding to do her meditating there. When she arrived she sat in the grass and placed a barrier around herself before she tried to center herself. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly and deeply.

A few minutes passed and she was having a hard time of it. She was finding that centering herself was difficult since she was feeling disturbed and agitated. She wanted to say she didn't know why, but she wasn't about to lie to herself. She knew exactly why she was feeling the way she was.

It had been a few days since her talk with Sesshomaru, and every time she saw or spoke to Inuyasha it reminded her of his words on why she was giving Inuyasha a chance. She had said she was giving him a chance because she still had feelings for him, and hoped that what she saw of him now would offset what she had seen in the future Midoriko had shown her.

While that was true, there was more to it. She thought she might be giving him a chance not just because of the love she felt for him, but because she was so used to always forgiving him and giving him chances to do better by her.

After thinking about Sesshomaru's words and remembering what Midoriko had shown her on top of her own current feelings, she realized that she shouldn't have agreed to allow Inuyasha to court her.

 _I don't know what I was thinking. Well actually I do. I was thinking I still loved him, had loved him for a long time, and should give him a chance_. She thought as she sighed heavily.

But she couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't keep pushing her unease aside, hoping it would go away, and she couldn't pretend anymore that she could continue what could only be loosely called courting.

Inuyasha had only taken her on a few outings, which weren't all that great, and she definitely didn't appreciate that he had interrupted her lessons to go on each of those sojourns.

He had given her the blue yukata that she had seen in her future and some flowers. Flowers that he liked to leave on the wood trunk outside her door. Flowers that were more like weeds. He couldn't even make the effort to pick her nice flowers from a field. There was never any doubt in her mind that it was him leaving the flowers since she knew Sesshomaru would choose nice ones, and give them to her in person.

Not to mention it had suddenly struck her that what she was doing wasn't fair to Sesshomaru. Not just for all he had done for her in her time, but for the future she had seen but hadn't lived as well.

Sesshomaru had already seen her love struck on Inuyasha and the results of it all, all the while keeping his feelings for her locked up inside. He shouldn't have to go through that again because she was so used to forgiving Inuyasha. And he shouldn't have to compete for her attention and affection with his half brother. It was one thing if it was a male she didn't know or was just befriended who expressed an interest in her, but this was completely different.

Both she and Sesshomaru knew what Inuyasha was like. She had seen the injuries in a peripheral way and he had healed them up close. They had both seen the injuries that resulted in the other hers death, and she had already promised herself it would never happen. She needed to take herself out of the situation she had put herself in so that there was no chance of it happening.

Beyond that she reminded herself that she was the one Sesshomaru had chosen. He loved her. Had loved her through her marriage to another male, loved her long after her death by said male, loved her enough to be there for her in her time and teach her all the while knowing she would return to the past, and loved her enough to have had his life uprooted to return to the past for a chance to be with her.

That was the kind of love and loyalty she had always wanted, and it was long since time she started returning it to the one who deserved it.

It was time to end her barely there courtship with his half brother. Now she just had to figure out how to tell Inuyasha she wasn't interested anymore.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Over the next few weeks Kagome couldn't help but notice that Sesshomaru seemed to step up his courtship efforts. Every time he visited her he brought a gift: decorative hair chop sticks, a fan, a small vase for flowers, scrolls on different subjects to read, writing materials, a tea set, and clothes.

The clothes had surprised her since he had already given her clothes. Because of him she now had her own little wardrobe full of kimono, thin feminine looking hakama, long and short yukata, and what surprised her most was the inclusion of what was unmistakably underwear.

Silk and cloth panties that Sesshomaru had to have had some hand in creating since they looked like what she was used to back in the future, and short half tank tops in place of bras so she wouldn't have to bind her breasts painfully just to keep them from being exposed.

They continued their talks. Sometimes they were in her home, walking through the forest around the village, sitting on the well in the well clearing, and other times Sesshomaru would take her to other places either on Ah-Un or flying to see beautiful and relaxing views.

It didn't stop there. He took her on picnics in the well clearing during the day and at night, which included stargazing. He made sure to spend time with her and the children often so they could get used to Sesshomaru being around them. He had even brought her to his home to show her around, but also as a way to provide dinner dates. He would pick her up and sometimes they would travel by his youki cloud and other times by riding on Ah-Un.

To Kagome's surprise she found her courtship also included the continuation of her training, and not just with her powers but with a variety of things.

Sesshomaru began to teach her how to hunt much to her surprise. He explained that he wanted her to learn not just because it was essential in this time, but also so she wouldn't have to rely on anyone if she didn't want to. And she would be able to choose what she wanted to eat instead of settling for whatever was brought to her or available.

He had even given her a beautifully crafted bow, so she would have a reliable weapon to use for hunting and defense. So far those lessons were going well, but she had picked up fishing a lot quicker.

He also began to teach her how to use a sword. He started with showing her how to draw and sheath the blade so she wouldn't slice her fingers off, and the correct stances as well as the correct way to swing it. He had already told her it would take some time to figure out what style would work for her, but she didn't mind since she knew it would take time to get the basics down.

The courtship was definitely working. Her feelings for Sesshomaru were growing rapidly, and her feelings for Inuyasha were fading.

Why put up with Inuyasha and his treatment of her when Sesshomaru was considerate, kind, gentle, respectful, and loving. He wanted her and wasn't afraid to let it be known. More and more she was telling herself he was exactly what she needed, wanted, and deserved.

She didn't need someone who couldn't make the effort to court her properly, who couldn't give her what she wanted and needed, wouldn't treat her right, and who saw her as their second choice and were settling for her. She was Sesshomaru's first choice, and that made all the difference in the world.

Kagome was beginning to miss Sesshomaru when he wasn't around and when their time ended for the day. She really missed the attention and affection he showed her. He liked to caress her face and arms, run his fingers through her hair, put his hand on her back, and hold her hand.

He hadn't gone beyond those things yet, most likely waiting until their courtship progressed further, and she could honestly say she was looking forward to that next step.

With Inuyasha she was starting to see behavior she didn't like. He would snap at any male he found her talking to, threatening them to stay away from her. It had shocked her as he had never behaved that way before, even with Kouga, and these were just village men that were just being friendly or who she was helping.

Of course Sesshomaru was exempt from that seemingly jealous behavior. It was either because he was courting her or because he made an effort to avoid being anywhere Inuyasha was.

Inuyasha continuously tried to interrupt her lessons with Keade, saying she didn't need to learn those things as he would protect her. She always felt grateful that he didn't know about her lessons and training with Sesshomaru or she was sure he would try to interrupt those as well.

 _I can't understand why he does it. It's like he doesn't want me to be able to use my powers even though he always called me weak during the jewel shard hunt for not being able to use them properly._ She thought in frustration.

His idea of spending time with her was walking around the village with her, glaring at any male that approached, trying to send Rin and Shippo away when they wanted to spend time with her while she was with him, taking her on demon extermination missions where he refused to let her participate, taking her to villages far away from Edo just to stare at her in silence as they walked around.

She wouldn't mind walking around their home village with him if he didn't make it seem like he was just doing it to be seen with her, nor would she mind going to other villages if he acted like he was enjoying it instead of only doing it for her. If he wasn't enjoying it as well then it was pointless to go.

Then there was the fact that he acted like he didn't have the time or patience to be around children. She remembered how he treated Shippo during the hunt, and she was careful to watch for that. He didn't hit Shippo anymore or any of the other children around them, but he stayed away from them or ran them away when they came near.

She liked children, wanted some of her own, and his lack of interest in them and his behavior around them was something she refused to put up with. Especially in the face of Sesshomaru including Rin and Shippo in their courtship.

Kagome had even considered briefly trying to remain friends with Inuyasha, but that quickly fell by the way side with his behavior. The more time that passed, and she continued to see Sesshomaru, the more he began to call her derogatory names; anything but her given name.

She wasn't sure but he seemed to realize her feelings for Sesshomaru were growing as she spent less time with him and it seem to make him angry. He started to get aggressive and abusive, showing some of what must have led up to the injuries she saw in the glimpses of her future.

He tried to stop her from going to see Sesshomaru; tried to follow her when she was going to see him, and started saying all kinds of bad things about Sesshomaru that she knew he was making up.

Kagome was starting to get tired of it. She was tired of dealing with him, listening to him, but it at least shored up her earlier decision that she couldn't and shouldn't even try to be with him.

Aside from the courting she was involved in she was watching the reactions Sango and Miroku were having to everything going on with her. What she was seeing and hearing as time passed didn't please her.

She was used to them either staying out of things between her and Inuyasha or supporting her and giving her advice when things got difficult between them. Now they were waffling back and forth between staying silent on her courtships, and continuously warning her against Sesshomaru and seemingly trying to push her toward Inuyasha.

Kagome was starting to get the feeling that they were trying to get her to live the life they thought she wanted; the one she sometimes spoke of back during the hunt when they spoke of what life would be like with Naraku gone; the life they wanted her to live.

They seemed to be picturing a life with them together with children, and her and Inuyasha together with children with all of them living their lives together.

She couldn't help wondering if that was what had happened in the future she had seen, and if the fact that she and Inuyasha never had children disrupted that dream life they had spoke of and caused them to grow distant from her.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome and Keade had just finished a lesson on using her arrows as a sealing agent and were walking back to the village in the late afternoon sun. She had a dinner date with Sesshomaru that evening and needed to figure out what to wear, but she didn't want to rush and get home quickly because there was still a few hours to go before she needed to even start getting dressed.

So she used Keade's pace to keep her from rushing, and talked to her about what the next lesson was going to be when Inuyasha came walking toward them.

"Look, I've had enough of you going off with that bastard." He said suddenly as he stopped in front of them. "It's pass time you stop seeing him. This needs to stop today, and you need to focus on us!"

Kagome sighed heavily and looked to Keade.

"You should go on ahead. You don't need to be subjected to this undoubtedly loud conversation about to happen like I am." She said to the elder woman who nodded understandingly.

"Ye are strong and I know ye will do what is best for ye." Keade said.

"Thanks." Kagome said before the elder woman began to walk off, continuing on toward the village.

"I'm not going to stop seeing Sesshomaru." She told Inuyasha as she turned to him. "Not only is he my friend but I really like him. This isn't just about seeing if my feelings for you remain the same while allowing him to court me; it's about doing what's best for me and seeing which one of you can give me the life I want."

"And sense you decided to bring this up now I might as well make my decision now." She added. Of course he didn't know that she had already decided.

"I've decided on Sesshomaru." She said seriously. "Between the two of you it's him that respects me, is considerate of me, is kind and affectionate with me. He cares about my well being and safety. He has no problem providing for me and teaching me to provide for myself. He also has no problem with Shippo being in my life, and has even taken the time to get to know him and spend time with him."

"You've shown over the pass weeks that you are the opposite of all of this, and I don't want to spend my life with someone like that." She explained. "Our courtship is over. We just aren't compatible and we want different things."

"No!" Inuyasha yelled. "You can't mean that. We're right for each and belong together. And you know it despite the shit you're spouting. It's why you returned in the first place!"

"What?!" Kagome exclaimed. "That's not why I returned. I came back because I feel more comfortable in this time. I can be myself here and not have to hide parts of my life from my friends."

"You're lying!" He said angrily. "You came back for me! You _always_ come back for me. You returned to free me after you sealed me to the Sacred God tree, you returned every time you went back through the well, and you found a way to return to me after three years of not being here."

"You're mine Kikyou, and you always will be!" He stated firmly.

Kagome froze in shock and her eyes widened as the name of his former love flew from his mouth at her. She couldn't believe he called her Kikyou. Suddenly everything she had seen and learned in the glimpses of her future made sense.

Inuyasha had seen her as his connection to Kikyou, probably some kind of living shrine to her. And when she showed that she was unwilling to stop spending time with his half-brother he began to get more and more abusive. As if beating her would force her to stop and behave more like Kikyou.

Now she was seeing that it went even beyond that. He had gone pass seeing her as a reincarnation; he seemed to think she was Kikyou.

She frowned and stepped back as she began to wonder about his sanity. If Inuyasha was seeing her as Kikyou then he was probably outraged that the one he loved was spending time with his hated half-brother at all.

 _It also means he's not seeing me as Kagome anymore or at least not all of the time_. She thought as she looked at him. _How in the world did this happen?_ _When_ _did this happen?_

This was dangerous and she wanted no part of it. People in her time with questionable sanity were sometimes dangerous, but could get help so they weren't dangerous anymore. But this was the past and there was no helping someone with those problems as far as she knew. With Inuyasha being a half demon he was even more dangerous then a human would be.

Kagome stepped back a few more steps and he stepped forward.

"Stay away from me!" She said as she held her hand out to stop him.

"Come on Kikyou. Don't be this way. All you have to do is stay away from that bastard, and everything will be good with us. We can move on with our lives and live the life we always wanted." He said as he held his hands out in a slightly placating manner.

"I'm not Kikyou." She said as she slowly shook her head. "I'm Kagome."

"That's just your new name, but you're still Kikyou. You'll eventually get used to hearing your name again." He told her, and Kagome frowned in disbelief.

"Sit!" She called out firmly and loudly when he tried to move closer to her as if he was going to touch her.

She turned and ran away, quickly putting some distance between them, and decided immediately that she was going to tell Sesshomaru about her decision and Inuyasha's bazar behavior.

"Sit!" She called out again just in case he had gotten back up, and if he hadn't just to keep him down. She wanted to get home where she knew she would be safe, preferably before he got free of the subjugation.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Inuyasha growled as he walked through the forest named after him. It had been a week since Kagome, his Kikyou, had rejected him.

He hadn't believed it at first. He thought she was just confused and upset. After all, the bastard had probably been telling her lies about him, and naive thing that she is she actually believed him. The bastard was seducing her as well. Telling her what she wanted to hear just so he could get what he wanted, and she was thinking it was respect and affection.

Knowing those factors he thought she just needed time to think things over. Kikyou always came back to him no matter what happened between them. Always.

But now it had been a week since he had spoken to her, and with what had happened in that time he was starting to think his Kikyou was seriously and truly rejecting him.

She had completely stopped spending time with him and avoided him whenever possible. Every time he had tried to get close to her to talk to her she sat him, and every time he got within her line of sight she sat him and turned in a different direction.

He had started following her around, staying out of her sight, as she moved throughout the village and went to her lessons with Keade. He had even tried to get into her hut a few times, and tried to look into her windows, but he was burned with purity every time and had to retreat.

He needed to get her to talk to him, to pay attention to him, to come back to him! That bastard was trying to steal her away from him and he wouldn't allow it. Kikyou was his! He would have her; by any means necessary. Even if he had to mate her.

Inuyasha had planned to marry her and only mate her when she had earned it, meaning when she was back to the way she was before she died. Now he would have to do it much sooner then he thought he would, but if it meant getting her out of Sesshomaru's clutches then that's what he would do.

She would never be able to get away from him then, and no one would be able to take her from him. They would be permanently linked.

Inuyasha began to head back toward the village, his mind completely focused on watching his female's every move, and wait for the right time to grab her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.**

Midoriko's Gift

 **Chapter Nine** **:** A Better Future

The pass week had been, in Kagome's opinion, in turns great and upsetting.

Great in that she was happy and content now that her choice had been made. She had been happy before but now her decision was known to all. More importantly Sesshomaru was aware that she had chosen him, as she should have from the start, and Inuyasha was aware that she wasn't interested in him.

It had been upsetting because of Inuyasha's behavior. It seemed no matter how many times Kagome sat him and avoided him he wouldn't stay away. It was frustrating and upsetting, especially since he kept calling her Kikyou.

Kagome had even taken a day to be completely away from Sango and Miroku. She figured they were his friends too and no matter what she thought of his sanity she didn't want to keep him from them just because she was with them. So she had stayed away just in case that was his reason for coming near, but he still approached her.

However that was during the week. Since then Inuyasha had become quiet and she was more concerned than before. She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't just give up on something he wanted. She had seen it before with Kikyou and with herself when he appeared to be trying to have them both.

And that was behavior when his mind was working normally. She wasn't sure how he would react now that she knew his sanity was suspect, and it was scary to think about. He had stopped approaching her and stayed out of her sight, but she could sense his aura and knew he was following her around.

Besides that disturbing situation she was having problems with Sango and Miroku, mostly Sango.

The couple had obviously known something was wrong when she began to sit Inuyasha for coming near her, and she explained that she had told him things between them were done and that she was continuing her courtship with Sesshomaru and made it clear that it would lead to more. She then explained his reaction, calling her Kikyou and saying she just had to get used to hearing her name again.

Miroku seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation, but Sango was either in denial or didn't understand the severity of the situation. She kept saying that this was Inuyasha they were talking about and they knew what he was like. So what if he kept calling her Kikyou. She was his first love and Kagome was her reincarnation. Inuyasha hadn't seen her in a few years and she had grown, so she probably seemed more like Kikyou now that she was older.

Kagome thought that was complete bullshit. She knew from conversations with Keade that the Kikyou that had lived actually wasn't that different from the golem that had been resurrected.

The only difference between the two was that the Kikyou that had lived was more stoic then cold, and had been a good if unhappy priestess instead of the nearly dark priestess she had been at her resurrection. She had helped and protected people with no complaint, and the resurrected golem had only done so because she needed a place to hide or it had served her in some way.

Kagome just didn't know what to do about the situation with Inuyasha other than to keep her distance from him. All manner of thoughts had gone through her mind about possible solutions. She had considered purifying him until he was human, and hope the effects lasted long enough for him to get the point. She thought sealing him to a tree could be a possible solution since the method had worked well enough until she had come along and freed him.

Even leaving the village and moving away had crossed her mind, but then she would remind herself of the cabin Sesshomaru had built her. She imagined she would be moving to live with Sesshomaru when their courtship finished, but that did nothing to solve her current dilemma.

She ultimately decided to tell Sesshomaru of her concerns, and see if he had any ideas on what to do.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Sesshomaru flew through the air on his youki cloud toward the village his Chosen currently called home. It had been just over a week since Kagome had told him she was choosing him and he was still quietly ecstatic.

The courtship had gone the way he had hoped so far. She had gone beyond just seeing him as a friend and began to have feelings for him. In the beginning he had been pleased and happy that she had agreed to let him court her, but he had also been upset and outraged that he was being lumped together with the half-breed to compete in a sense for her affections.

He hadn't liked it but he understood where she was coming from. She had had feelings for the half-breed, even thought herself in love, for almost four years. Then in one night she'd been shown a glimpse into her future where she got her happily ever after and found out it didn't end happily.

He understood that that part of her still wanted to give the no good whelp a chance despite what she had seen. Inuyasha technically hadn't done any of those things to her, so he was fine with sitting back, courting her, and letting things play out as they may. He knew he would gain her affection and the whelp wouldn't stand a chance so he hadn't been worried.

And despite his insistence on not so much as even seeing the boy he had monitored the progress of her " _courtship_ " with the whelp to make sure she wasn't in danger from him. He listened to tidbits from Rin and Shippo, took notice of any new items in her home, and filed away any complaints she let slip, which were few since she knew he didn't want to hear about the whelp.

During the pass weeks Inuyasha had behaved himself, but now his Chosen had informed him that she was concerned about his behavior now that she had made her choice clear. Apparently the whelp was angry and possibly in denial, and there was a question as to his sound of mind.

Sesshomaru landed in the forest named after Inuyasha and focused his senses on locating him. He easily found the whelp, since he stood out to him like a bright light shining in the dark, watching Kagome as she trained with the elder priestess.

He had planned to stay away from the half-breed, not speak to him or even chance catching sight of him, since he didn't trust himself not to kill him. After all, his Chosen had held affection for the whelp and wouldn't be pleased if he killed the bastard even after what the legendary miko had shown her.

However, that was then and this was now. Now he knew the whelp was possibly losing his grip on sanity if he hadn't already lost it, and his Chosen was concerned for her safety as well as the safety for others in the village.

He decided that since she had made her choice and informed him of her concern it was incumbent upon him to address the situation.

So here he was, completely undetected, setting eyes on the half-breed he was unfortunate enough to be related to for the first time since being back in the past, and just as he imagined he and his beast already wanted to rip him limb from limb.

Instantly he remembered back with perfect recall all the times he had seen Kagome bruised, limping, dazed and concussed from being beaten, the wounds on her body from the bastards claws digging and dragging into her delicate skin.

Then he remembered the shock and horror of finding her body. He never knew if she knew she was dying, but just knowing she had managed to drag herself to the well clearing of all places reawakened his intense rage.

He knew that she must have gone there because she felt comfort there. The well was, after all, the portal that had once led her to her family, and the clearing itself had been the scene for the majority of their conversations and witnessed their budding friendship.

His beast growled furiously but he kept it from escaping his throat. He was a daiyoukai and he had perfect control of himself. He had such control that he was going to let the half-breed know in no uncertain terms that his stalking his Chosen was not okay, and all without killing him.

Sesshomaru slowly walked up behind Inuyasha, his steps soundless and feather light, and stopped right behind him. He tilted his head slightly in combination of the curious dog and perfect cold killer that he was. It was a side of himself that no one saw despite his reputation as a cold emotionless killer. The only ones who saw that side of him never lived to tell. It was a side he hoped his little pack, his Chosen especially, never had to see.

He brought his hand up and swung it down heavily, colliding with the whelp's thick skull and knocking him unconscious without a sound. He caught him before he could hit the ground and sped away, leaving his Chosen's lesson undisturbed.

Once he was out of her sensing range he shifted into his light orb form and left the area altogether. A few minutes later he was landing in the middle of a field. He dropped Inuyasha and walked away to stand at a good distance, and waited for him to wake as he scanned the area with his senses to make sure nothing and no one was around to interfere.

 **~oOo~**

Inuyasha groaned as he woke, his head pounding in pain. He didn't know what happened to him. One moment he was watching Kikyou with her sister, thinking she didn't need those lessons since he would protect her but also thinking that maybe they were helping her remember herself and what she was capable of, and waiting for the chance to grab her.

The next moment he was waking up with pain splitting his head open.

He opened his eyes seeing grass and squinting at the sun. He sniffed carefully as he rolled over onto his back, but smelled nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing besides the fact that he was no longer in his territory. He couldn't sense or smell anyone nearby or in the general area, so that was good as far as he was concerned.

Then suddenly he groped at his waist, sighing in relief when he found his Tessaiga still there.

Inuyasha sat up with a groan and looked around before he got to his feet, holding a hand to his aching head. He turned around to see what was behind him and sucked in a sharp surprised breath to find his bastard half-brother standing at a slight distance with his back to him.

 _How did I not sense or smell the bastard?! If I hadn't seen him I wouldn't have known he was there_. He thought in disgruntled shock.

Sesshomaru turned around and stared at the whelp he had the misfortune to be related to. He started to wonder if Inuyasha would make things easy for him, but reminded himself of who he was dealing with. He on the other hand would be doing exactly what he intended to do, because he knew the half-breed well enough to know that's what it would eventually lead to.

"I brought you here for a simple conversation." He said calmly, speaking before the half-breed could. "You are to leave Kagome alone. Never approach her or speak to her again."

"What the fuck?!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "You can't tell me I can't speak to or see Kikyou. She's mine and that's not going to change no matter what lies you tell her or how you seduce her!"

"Her name is not Kikyou." Sesshomaru stated. "Kagome is not Kikyou, and she is not yours. Kikyou is dead."

"She isn't dead! She's in the village right now. She came back to me like she always does, and I'm not going to let you take her away from me!" Inuyasha said as he grabbed the hilt of his sword, but before he could draw it Sesshomaru was in front of him.

Sesshomaru slammed his fist into Inuyasha's face, knocking him back. He grabbed his forearm and pulled him back toward him, and proceeded to beat him in his face and stomach. Inuyasha tried to attack him with his free hand, but Sesshomaru grabbed his wrist and snapped it before he continued to beat on him, knocking out teeth in the process.

After a while Sesshomaru released the whelps arm and stepped back before he kicked him in the chest, knowing he was breaking ribs, sending him flying across the field. He followed sedately watching as the half-breed's back slid in the grass before he came to a stop. He heard a pained groan and his beast rumbled in satisfaction. The whelp wasn't dead but his injured state had sated his bloodlust for the time being.

He stopped once he reached the half-breed and looked down on him. His golden eyes took in his bruised face, and missing teeth. Beyond that he knew his stomach was bruised, some ribs were broken, and his wrist was broken. He knew he'd heal, at least he would if something didn't come along and finish him off. He wasn't so bad off that he wouldn't be able to defend himself or flee to safety. If he didn't then he was just too weak to help himself and it wasn't Sesshomaru's problem.

"If you want Kikyou so badly that your mind is seeing her in other females then you should replace her with a female willing or foolish enough to take on her identity or die and hope to be with her in hell." Sesshomaru said coldly.

"Stay away from Kagome." He warned darkly. "She is mine. Next time I will simply kill you without a word or thought."

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome and Sesshomaru had had a wonderful evening so far. Sesshomaru had hunted and helped Kagome fix their meal. They had talked and eaten and even had tea, and now they were stretched out on her bed, having made their way there after a silent conversation with their eyes.

Sesshomaru knew at that moment that his Chosen was ready to take the next step in their courtship, and he honestly had been looking for a way to silently celebrate having set the half-breed straight on who she was and more importantly who she belonged to.

Kagome had been able to move about the village and go about her business without Inuyasha's presence or aura dogging her every step. She had been pleasantly surprised, and knew that he had something to do with it but didn't ask what. Still, he had cautioned her that the half-breed would most likely be back and to remain cautious.

Inuyasha's aura had shown up earlier that day in the village, but they both had ignored it since he wasn't coming near her home or bothering them. He was closer now that some time had passed, but they had decided that since he was outside and they were inside they would focus on them and not let him ruin their evening.

Sesshomaru covered his Chosen's body slightly with his own as their lips and tongues danced together. He stroked his hand up and down her side, brushing the side of her breast, before he gently loosened her thin black obi.

He shifted slightly and slipped his hand between the folds of her cream colored short kimono, and rumbled deeply at the feel of smooth, warm, and soft skin. His hand moved up her stomach, slipped beneath her makeshift bra, and covered a soft mound of flesh. He caressed and squeezed her breast, his claws lightly pricking her skin at the motion.

He revealed in the feel of her arms sliding around his neck and her fingers tangling in his hair. The feel of her body arching slightly, pushing her breast further into his hand, silently confirming that she enjoyed the feel and letting him know she wanted it to continue.

He continued to squeeze her breast as he moved his lips over her cheek and down to her neck. He placed hot kisses up and down the length of her neck pausing to nibble here and there. He continued down, licking her collar bone, and placing kisses on her chest. He paused and pushed the sides of her kimono apart and pushed up her makeshift bra.

Sesshomaru's eyes softened and heated simultaneously at the sight of her bare breasts. He licked his lips lightly before his head descended, his lips wrapping around one nipple, flicking it with his tongue, before he opened his mouth wider and took in more of her breast. As his tongue swirled around one breast his hand lavished attention on the remainder, pulling soft alluring sounds from her parted lips that made his body flush hotly.

Sesshomaru opened his eyes lazily; he had planned to take it slow, keep his hands if not above her clothes then at least above her waist, but he couldn't. He was no gentleman, he wasn't a man at all. He was a demon, a dog demon, and a passionate one at that.

This delicate yet strong female was his Chosen. The woman who had befriended him, who he had more than fallen in love with. The same woman he had watched love a male who abused her for ten years, and never touched her in pleasure until the end. And that was for his own sick pleasure and dominance.

He had mourned her for over five hundred years, and then been given the chance to have her. He was not going to waste it. He was going to show her what a male who _really_ loved her could do for her, the pleasure he could make her feel, and show her just how passionate he was, and all for her.

Suddenly he heard a thump against the cabin door, and from the aura he knew it was the half-breed. He was probably trying to get in, but his Chosen's protections worked perfectly. She herself didn't seem to notice, distracted by his attentions as she was, so he ignored it and focused completely on her.

He loosened the tie to her cream colored hakama and slipped his hand inside the silk material and into her underwear. He touched soft curls and moved further down until he felt warm moist skin. His fingers moved slowly, rubbing up and down, back and forth, thoroughly enjoying being able to touch her in such a way.

He and his beast growled in pleasure at the feel of her legs parting, releasing her aroused scent more fully and giving him more room to explore her most private area and extend her pleasure. He moved his lips back to hers in a passionate kiss, and continued to rub her, stimulating her nerves and exciting her, until she cried out her release.

 **~oOo~**

Inuyasha moved slowly around the dark forest near Kikyou's home, watching the large hut knowing his female was inside.

It had taken him a week to heal enough to be able to travel, but even then his body still ached. He knew from experience that it would be another two or three days before he was completely pain free.

He still couldn't believe what that bastard had done to him, and even more what he had said. He hadn't seen Sesshomaru in months, definitely not since Kikyou had returned to him, and when he did he gets the shit beat out of him and warned away from his own female.

It pissed him off. Kikyou was his. Sesshomaru had no right trying to warn him away. He didn't care that the bastard had been courting her or that she had supposedly picked the bastard over him. She was just confused and probably infatuated since the bastard was telling her what she wanted to hear. It didn't matter to him. She was his and always would be. He just needed to make her remember, and once he did that they would be able to live the life they wanted.

He just needed to get to her and get her away from everyone to make her see sense. It was something he needed to do all the more with that bastard trying to claim what was his.

So as soon as Inuyasha returned to the village he began to look for her. He had been sidetracked by Sango and Miroku and their questions on where he had been. He'd ignored their questions at first and when they kept asking he lied and made up some excuse for where he had been, glad that his bruises were gone and his teeth had grown back days before.

He left them, telling them rather impatiently that he wanted to see Kikyou. They gave him strange looks but he ignored them.

Now he was in sight of her hut, had been watching for hours, and knew she was inside and that she wasn't alone. She hadn't come out since he had been watching so he moved closer, careful not to touch the structure since he remembered what happened before, and heard low voices.

He couldn't hear what was being said but he heard enough to know that the bastard was in there with her. He returned to the trees and settled in to watch, hoping she would come out, and knowing Sesshomaru would be leaving soon.

But as time passed and it grew later she didn't come out, and Sesshomaru didn't leave. He paced impatiently as he watched the flickering shadows through her window from what he knew was fire light.

 _What are they doing? Why's the bastard staying so late?_ He wondered with a frown as he watched the hut.

Inuyasha moved forward toward the hut and began to circle it, listening and trying to figure out what was happening inside. The sounds of voices were gone, but there was no other sound. They were obviously still in there; there was only one way out and neither of them had left, but he couldn't figure out what they were doing.

 _They can't have fallen asleep_. He considered briefly as he lurked outside the hut, continuing to circle the building, but almost immediately tossed that idea out. That would just be too easy and convenient.

 _The bastards courting her, she's infatuated and believes she cares for him, and they're alone in her hut_. He considered the facts as he looked at the hut then he blinked. _Is she kissing that bastard at this very moment?!_ He thought as he growled lowly. His blood boiled at the thought of that bastard kissing his female, and that she would let him.

 _How could she do this?! He's my enemy! How could she betray me with my enemy of all people?_ He thought in outrage before he began obsessing about her doing more than that. Was she letting the bastard touch her, was she still clothed, would she consider sleeping with that bastard?!

The thought sent Inuyasha tearing off into the forest, angrily clawing at trees, and wishing he could get inside that hut and take Kikyou away. The thought of her being intimate with Sesshomaru, even just the _idea_ of it, circled his mind again and again until he was running at her hut in a rage, intending to bust down the door.

He slammed into the door, received a vicious shock, and was sent hurling away and into a tree. He groaned as he fell to the ground and glared viciously at the hut. She didn't even come out to see what the sound of him slamming into her door was, which only fueled his suspicions.

Inuyasha's eyes reddened slightly as he continued to glare. He needed to get to her before that bastard tainted her completely.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

Kagome sighed lightly as she sat on the edge of the bone eaters well early in the afternoon watching Rin and Shippo quietly play and talk in the grass a few feet in front of her. They were waiting for Sesshomaru to come and pick them up so they could all spend the day together.

It had been a couple of weeks since Inuyasha returned to the village from wherever Sesshomaru had left him, and she had done her level best to stay away from him. She knew he had tried to get into her home on multiple occasions in the past weeks, most of the time when she was inside.

That disturbed her because it let her know he was getting desperate, and for more than just to see her. Just because she had been avoiding him didn't he mean he couldn't see her. He obviously wanted to talk to her, but it had to be more than that. And that was what scared and disturbed her.

She had long since made sure Rin and Shippo understood that something was wrong with Inuyasha, and to never be alone with him and to stay away from him if at all possible. She made sure they would stick together when moving about the village, and made Shippo promise to check for Inuyasha's aura before he came to her home.

Kagome had even spoken to Sango and Miroku. She knew they could handle themselves, but they had children and that was the only reason she spoke up what with Sango not believing what was happening with Inuyasha. She knew if nothing else Miroku would take her warnings seriously to protect his family.

Of course it was a given that Keade was fully aware of what was going on since they were nearly always together for her lessons. Her teacher was being careful as well, and made sure to remind her frequently of the sacred beads. She definitely hadn't forgotten about those beads, and would be using them at the first opportunity should it become necessary.

Kagome sighed and wondered what in the world she had been thinking to give Inuyasha a chance. She had seen the results of his abuse to the other her in the future Midoriko had shown her, but she couldn't have anticipated his current behavior and mindset.

For him to think she was Kikyou was just outrageous and bizarre. She still couldn't understand why he would think that way. He understood perfectly fine when she first returned that she was Kagome, but sometime after the courting started and before she told him her decision he started thinking of her as Kikyou.

The only reason she could think of was that he had always thought of her as Kikyou, always thought of her as a reincarnation, and only a lesser version of the woman he loved and really wanted, but still the same person.

The future she had seen was obviously the result of her ignorance of that fact, and meekly doing as he wanted for the most part. Now though what was happening was a result of her denying him what he wanted and refusing to be meek and accepting.

She was happy now and refused to let Inuyasha get in the way of that. Sesshomaru had more than proven his deep affection for her and his ability to provide for and protect her. And recently he had proven he could satisfy another need she hadn't really thought much of. She enjoyed the way he made her feel when he kissed her and touched her. He made her feel sexy and desirable, made her feel like a woman.

She had always known he was attractive, but when he set about arousing her and getting her excited it added to his attractiveness. She loved how he could make her dazed, dizzy, and swoon.

 _I never thought I could swoon_. She thought in amusement.

She remembered the last time he had touched her intimately; the way his mouth felt on her skin, the feel of his fangs scraping against her, the slight prick of his claws in her soft skin.

Kagome was snapped out of the memory she was enjoying as her senses went on high alert. She blinked rapidly and focused. Her eyes widened as she sensed Inuyasha's aura speeding their way.

"Shippo! Rin! Come here!" She called out in a firm serious tone, and they hurried over immediately. "Inuyasha's coming quick, so stay close to me." She added as she quickly put a barrier up to keep him from getting to them.

Rin screamed as Inuyasha came hurtling out of the trees. Shippo hugged her and covered her from sight, and Kagome couldn't help smiling internally at the sight.

 _Is this a sign of their closeness and what will lead to a future mating?_ She wondered as she watched Inuyasha move closer.

Inuyasha slammed into her barrier and was shocked and thrown back by the force of the barrier and the power it contained. He growled as he got up and tried again with the same results. And again, and again, always with the same results.

 _That's enough_. Kagome thought as she watched him get thrown back once again.

"Sit!" She called, deciding it was time to use the sacred beads. He crashed face down to the ground causing the ground to tremble with the force. "Sit!" She called again for good measure.

"Everything's okay. It's going to be okay." She reassured the children. "You can go ahead and continue playing." She added as she released her barrier.

Kagome watched them for a moment as they moved away before she stood and moved toward Inuyasha. She stared down at him for a moment before she shook her head and put a barrier around him to keep him there, keep him contained.

She returned to her seat on the well and kept her eye on both the children and Inuyasha, sitting him whenever he appeared to be recovering despite the barrier.

 **~oOo~**

Sesshomaru flew steadily as he made his way to pick up his Chosen and children. He couldn't wait. He very much enjoyed their family time. It was something he had wished he had been given the chance to have in the years after Kagome's death.

It was something he made sure to add to their courtship often. Not just to cement in her mind the fact that he thought of the three of them as family, but to make sure the children felt included. For them to know that when all was said and done they would be coming with his Chosen to live in his home. It would be great to see the young pair there again, and even better to see his Chosen there and _alive_.

As he reached the forest bordering the village he spread his senses out, and was alarmed to find the half-breed in the well clearing with his family. He put on speed and arrived within moments, carefully landing and looking around. His Chosen was relaxed and unharmed, Rin and Shippo were playing and appeared unconcerned.

Sesshomaru blinked and began to make his way toward his Chosen, narrowly eyeing the half-breed as he lay sprawled out under a barrier. Once he reached her he leaned over and pressed his face against her neck, breathing in her scent to make sure she was unharmed.

 **If he touched her I will kill him!** His beast rumbled darkly, and then paused before adding. **I will kill him even if he has not touched her.**

Sesshomaru didn't even need to reply. He and his beast were in agreement when it came to the half-breed. He was almost positive, just from the fact that the whelp was there, that he was going to have to deal with him. He had already warned the half-breed once, and he wouldn't do it a second time.

"We're fine." He heard her say as she wrapped her arms around his neck. " _I'm_ fine. He didn't have a chance to do anything."

"Kagome." He said quietly as he placed his hands lightly on her thighs, and listened as she explained exactly what happened. He then nodded and kissed her neck before he stood up.

He looked to Inuyasha, seeing him beginning to struggle, his eyes flickering before they reddened, and looked back to his Chosen.

Kagome saw his red eyes, knowing it meant his beast was present, and stood. She placed her hands on his face, slowly stroking his markings as she gazed into his eyes and nodded. Somehow she understood what he was about to do.

She nodded again. "The children and I will be here when you return." She said softly before she released him and sat back on the well. "I don't want to know the details. Ever." She added.

She knew Inuyasha was a danger to her with him confusing her with Kikyou. He knew she had chosen Sesshomaru so he probably saw it as his love leaving him for his hated half-brother. He would always think that, and never leave her alone. She didn't want to chance him targeting the children to get her when it finally dawned on him that he couldn't get her himself.

Sesshomaru nodded and stroked her hair gently before he turned and stepped toward the half-breed. Kagome waved her hand when he stopped and released the barrier. He grabbed the back of his firerat haori and sped away in his light orb form. He returned to the same clearing he had brought him to weeks before, not seeing a need to find another location, and dropped him.

"Fucking bastard!" Inuyasha said angrily as he got to his feet. "Stop getting in between me and my female! Kikyou is mine, and I'll get it through your head even if I have to beat the shit out of you."

Sesshomaru stared silently before he lifted his hand, fingertips glowing green. His flicked his wrist and his whip flew forward, the end wrapping around the sheath of the sword at Inuyasha's waist. He pulled back sharply and the sword came speeding toward him. He grabbed it out of the air and slipped it into the sash at his waist with his other swords.

Inuyasha cursed, upset that it had happened so fast that he couldn't even react in time to stop it. He ran at Sesshomaru, intending on getting his Tessaiga back, and lifted his hands, ready to rip the bastard's arms off. He was dismayed to be swatted aside with apparent ease. He went skidding across the ground before he managed to roll into a crouch.

He stared warily at his red eyed half-brother, standing there completely still, watching him like he was pray. He couldn't help being reminded of the last time he had seen him and the beating that had followed. He uneasily remembered the warning as well.

 _"Stay away from Kagome." He warned darkly. "She is mine. Next time I will simply kill you without a word or thought."_

Inuyasha stood slowly. Kikyou was his not the bastard's, but he was still uneasy. Would the bastard really kill him? He hadn't in all these years. He especially hadn't been able to since he had gotten the Tessagia, but he couldn't help remembering the vicious beating the bastard had given him despite having the Tessaiga on his hip.

 _No he won't kill me. If nothing else then because my Kikyou would be unhappy. The bastard wouldn't want to drive her away_. He thought. Still, he was uneasy and the bastard's silence wasn't helping.

Sesshomaru watched as the half-breed watched him, could taste his unease in the air, and couldn't wait until it shifted into fear. The whelp had not taken his warning seriously, and seemed to have thoroughly forgotten that he lived up to every bit of his name. He had clearly become complacent or simply believed himself unbeatable since he had the Tessaiga.

There was nothing that could save the half-breed now. His warning had been ignored and he had become a danger to his Chosen. Continuing to think of her as the dead one and trying to break into her home. Now he had gone further and tried to either attack her or kidnap her. He was thankful he had taught her how to put up barriers or who knew what the whelp would have done otherwise.

Beyond that he had also endangered his children. He would have killed him for that alone. Either way, his offenses had added up and it was time for him to go. Perhaps his father would be able to do something with him in the afterlife. He didn't care one way or another. He just wanted him gone and no longer a danger to his family, his pack.

He lifted his hand, red eyes staring flatly as his fingertips began to glow a sickly green. He flicked his wrist without warning and his green whip flew out and smacked Inuyasha in the chest, cutting cleanly through his firerat haori and flaying his chest.

Inuyasha cried out but he continued, moving his hand like a musical conductor, his whip flowing through the air like a silk ribbon and cutting into his chest and stomach over and over, giving him no time to react defensively.

He paused when his clothes were hanging around his chest and shoulders in strips. He then flicked his wrist again and the end of his whip wrapped around Inuyasha's left wrist. He tensed his fingers together and showed just how much control he had on his youki by condensing the whip into a corrosive band and tightening it until his hand fell to the ground, the wound cauterized closed.

Inuyasha screamed and grabbed his wrist and Sesshomaru took the opportunity to repeat the action on his other wrist and severed his right hand. He screamed again, staring wide eyed at the stubs where his hands used to be.

"Fucking bastard! Shit! Fuck!" He cursed at Sesshomaru, instinctively stepping back, his body realizing he was in more danger than he thought before his mind registered that fact.

He eventually stopped cursing as his half-brothers silence continued, and bit his bottom lip to keep from whimpering in pain. Though he thought he would've been justified in the action, he refused to show weakness in front of him. Not that that small rebellion had any effect on Sesshomaru. He just continued to stand there, staring with a flat yet focused gaze.

As he stood there, pain pulsing through him in time with his heart beat and feeling more like pray than ever, it dawned on him that his life really was in danger. He had no sword and no hands to use it even if he had it. No hands also meant no claws. All he had were his feet and fangs and he could admit in the privacy of his mind that it meant nothing in the face of his half-brother's strength.

Inuyasha's eyes flickered around, looking for some help, something, anything! He knew he shouldn't look away from a threat, but he couldn't help it. Then he suddenly realized what he was looking for like a bolt of lightning. He was looking for his Kikyou. He was so used to her standing up for him, defending him even when he didn't need it.

But that wouldn't be happening now. She was far away and taking care of that bastard's brat. She was under the bastards spell, thinking he cared for her, and probably didn't even know what the bastard had planned for him.

Sesshomaru's beast rumbled in satisfaction at the half-breed's condition and the scent of fear that had begun to permeate the air. It seemed to him the half-breed was beginning to understand what was happening. Still, his understanding meant nothing to him. He was going to continue until he was completely satisfied, and then finish what he started.

He rushed forward and grabbed the half-breed by the throat and continued forward, slamming him back against a tree. He glanced down at his struggling legs and pulled Bakusaiga out and cut off his feet. The whelp screamed and he tightened his grip around his throat to quiet him and save his sensitive ears. He then cut off his lower legs just under the knee, and released him, letting him fall to the ground whimpering in pain.

He decided he needed to be more hands on as well as show the half-breed that he really never stood a chance, and that was the consequence of ignoring his warnings. He slowly released his youki, letting it grow and swell, his eyes glowing and his hair and clothes waving in the current of his power.

Inuyasha's eyes widened as he felt Sesshomaru's youki continue to rise. He had known his half-brother was strong, always had even if he wasn't willing to admit it out loud, but he hadn't felt this strong the last time he had sensed his youki.

And it continued to rise! Swelling and pulsing, pressing down on him like a smothering blanket, and thoroughly cowing the wild stubborn beast inside him. His father's blood was strong in him and he was all kinds of dangerous when he lost control, especially since he feared nothing when it happened.

Now that wild part of him that feared nothing was very afraid because his half-brother was turning out to be more powerful then he had thought. And there was nothing he could do. He was in a large amount of pain and even more helpless then he had been just a few minutes before.

Sesshomaru snarled viciously, the sound deep and rumbling, vibrating and spreading through the air for anything conscious to hear and feel. He leaned over and ripped off one arm and then the other, dropping the limbs to land among the other severed body parts.

Inuyasha screamed again and again.

"Why are you doing this?!" He finally asked, his voice shouting pass his pain.

Sesshomaru didn't answer. He had already told the half-breed he would kill him without a word and he meant to do just that.

"Is this just because of Kikyou? Just because you want her, and I'm not willing to give her up so easily?" Inuyasha asked.

The mention of the dead ones name instead of Kagome's set him and his beast off. He snarled viciously, baring his elongated fangs, and grabbed him by the throat again. He lifted him up, dangling what was left of his body as his claws dug deep into his flesh, and began to release his poison, pumping him full of the deadly liquid.

He watched Inuyasha's eyes widen and his mouth open in a silent scream before his eyes dulled in color and the life drain from him, leaving him staring at a blank lifeless gaze.

Sesshomaru lifted his free hand and removed the black pearl from the half-breeds eye and slipped it inside the sleeve of his haori before he dropped the half-breeds body. He let his poison cover his remains to leave no body to bury, and no trace that he existed other then in the memories of those who knew him.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and reigned in his youki, his beast settling back down and content now that the half-breed was forever gone. When he opened his eyes they were gold once again. He took to his youki cloud and began to head back to his pack. He needed to reassure his Chosen that she was safe.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

There was no denying it. Life was turning out to be calm and peaceful with Inuyasha no longer around.

In his absence Kagome was able to go to and from her home, and walk around the village without feeling the need to look over her shoulder. She no longer had to scan the area for his aura though she kept up the practice of scanning in general since it was a good habit to have. She was able to relax and breathe easier and conduct her life without worries.

Shippo and Rin could now walk around the village and come and go from her home without worrying about being used to get to her. She had offered for them to come live with her, had offered it more than once since her home had been built, but they refused. She suspected they didn't want to get in the way of her courtship with Sesshomaru.

In the days after Sesshomaru dealt with Inuyasha she had informed Keade, Miroku, and Sango of what happened, in the most general sense, mostly because Sango and Miroku were concerned about his disappearance.

She let them know that he had tried to either attack her or kidnap her. She didn't know which because she didn't give him the chance. She protected herself, and Rin and Shippo since they were with her, and subdued him. When Sesshomaru arrived for the meeting she informed him of what happened and he took Inuyasha away to deal with him. She didn't ask for details, and if they wanted to know they could ask Sesshomaru.

None of them needed to know that Kagome was fully aware and okay with the fact that Inuyasha was dead. If she had her way he wouldn't be dead. He would be alive and living his life, being happy with what he had. But she knew that wouldn't have happened.

He had been unhappy that she was with his half-brother, thought she was Kikyou, and had become more and more obsessed with getting her as the days passed. He had become a danger to her and even she knew that not dealing with something that was a danger to you could get you killed. She could have sealed him, but she knew that there was a chance he could be released, and she knew from experience that his obsession would still be there once he was released and come after her. There were no public jails in this time, only private dungeons, so the only other option was death.

Miroku had understood and she felt he suspected what actually happened to Inuyasha. Sango Kagome didn't know. It seemed every day that passed she understood Sango less and less, so she couldn't even begin to predict what she thought.

Keade she knew understood fully and also more than suspected what Inuyasha's fate had been. She had only addressed what happened once, saying that it was a shame how far he had fallen.

With Inuyasha no longer around Kagome and Sesshomaru's courtship progressed smoothly and surprisingly quickly. Sesshomaru was around more often, though he still felt no need to enter the village and be seen.

As Kagome finished learning the things Keade could teach her she spent more and more time at Sesshomaru's home, learning the layout and becoming familiar with those who lived there. They spent more time with Rin and Shippo. Now that Shippo was comfortable with Sesshomaru they began to get the pair used to what would be their family life.

The couple's intimate life continued, sometimes at his home but mostly in her cabin hut. He continued to introduce her to the pleasure a body could feel and get her used to his touch. Something she was pleased with.

As she grew more comfortable with being in a relationship with Sesshomaru Kagome questioned him on when they would become mates. He informed her that he wanted to wait until she had learned all she could from the elder priestess since she would of course be living with him once they mated so she wouldn't have access to her every day.

Kagome thought that was reasonable and practical, so she was fine with it.

As the days continued to pass she focused on learning everything priestess related that she could from Keade, and when her lessons were finished or when she didn't have lessons she was training with Sesshomaru continuing to learn how to hunt and use a sword.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

 _It's time_. Sesshomaru thought as he flew towards his Chosen's home early one evening. She had finally finished learning all she could from the elder priestess, and was now free from her obligation in the village.

In his sash he carried his Chosen's mating gift. He had made it himself and was quite proud of what he had created. He couldn't wait to see her reaction. He hoped she liked it.

There was no more need to wait. She was ready and as prepared as she was going to be, and he was _more_ than ready. He had been ready for over five hundred years. He had already picked the perfect spot and surrounded it with a barrier to keep it from being disturbed.

The only thing he was concerned about was the fact that her first time wouldn't be in the comfort of a bed. However, he knew his Chosen well enough to know that she would understand the necessity of being in contact with the land once he explained.

A few minutes later he landed on the outskirts of the village of Edo, and calmly began to walk toward the cabin home of his Chosen. He could tell by scent that she was indeed home. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door instead of flaring his youki. She opened the door and he watched her eyes brighten at seeing him, her cheeks coloring beautifully, complementing the kimono she was wearing.

It was a creation of white silk with swirling ribbon and circle designs in blush red, and complimented by a black obi sash that stood out nicely.

"Come in." Kagome said as she stepped back, allowing him to enter, and he wasted no time presenting her with her mating gift once he was inside.

"It is the right time for you to have this." Sesshomaru said as she took it in her hands. "I am confident you are ready to wield it."

She unwrapped it and found a sword, complete with a black sheath. The hilt was black with a blue strip weaved around it in a swirling design. She pulled the sword from its sheath and saw that the blade was a shiny silver, so shinny she could see her reflection, and sharp.

"It is a wakizashi sword. I felt the length of a katana would be too long for you to handle properly, so I made something shorter." Sesshomaru explained.

"You really made this?" Kagome asked, surprised by his words.

"I did." He replied with a slight nod. "It was a skill I discovered a few years after you..." He trailed off in hesitation and Kagome nodded, understanding that he meant the death of the other her.

"I was looking for something to try and distract myself from my grief. Shippo needed a new sword and I was not in any condition to deal with Totosai. I remembered that I had made Bakusaiga inside my body, so I should be able to make swords just as good as Totosai if not as well as him." He explained.

"So that is what I did. I found the process sufficiently complicated enough to push everything else from my mind, and it was soothing. Over the years I got better and I think I can make swords as well as Totosai can." He finished.

"Have you made any other weapons besides swords?" Kagome asked curiously.

"I have not tried, but I will the next chance I get." He answered. "Your sword is made of one of my fangs, so even if I am not around a part of me will be helping to protect you. It will also allow you to use your power with it. Any other abilities it has I leave for you to discover as you get better in your sword work."

"Thank you. I'll cherish it." She said with a smile. Then she blushed and dropped her eyes before she pulled her courage forward and looked back to him. "Does this gift mean it's time for our mating?" She asked.

"Yes." Sesshomaru said with a nod. "Your training with the elder priestess is done therefore your obligation in the village is over. We can start our lives together."

Kagome smiled and nodded before she smoothed her hands over her kimono nervously.

"What are we supposed to do now?" She asked.

"We should gather the children, and you should say goodbye to your friends." He replied gently. "I will put a protective barrier around the cabin to preserve it and help keep people from trying to get inside or trying to take it apart and use the pieces for themselves. That along with the protection you already have on it will keep it safe."

Kagome nodded. "Is there anything I should bring?" She asked.

"Just yourself and your weapons. Everything else is already at your new home." He replied.

Kagome nodded again and slipped her sword into her obi sash, and grabbed her bow and arrows before they left the cabin.

 **~oOo~**

Kagome hummed lightly from her place in Sesshomaru's arms as they traveled on his youki cloud. They had just come from getting the children settled in at the palace and were now headed to wherever Sesshomaru had decided they would have their mating.

 _This is it_. She was getting mated. Her life would forever be tied to the demon lord holding her in his arms. She would be bound to him in a way marriage could never provide.

It pleased and excited her. She was mating her best friend. She had no doubts. Sesshomaru had thoroughly made sure she would have none. She was in love, and she knew that she was loved in return. Every standard she would have for a guy in her time Sesshomaru had no problem fulfilling.

He was mating her without a second thought, which pleased her after the future she had seen. In fact, she knew he would have mated her instead of asking to court her, but he _had_ asked and waited for her to develop feelings for him beyond friendship. She had no doubt that they would marry as well, but that could wait.

In fact, she wanted to wait until they reached her family. That way they could celebrate with them. It would be like renewing their vows. But that was years down the line. At present she was about to be mated, and mating involved naked bodies. Despite the intimacy she had shared with Sesshomaru so far, they had never seen each other completely naked.

Kagome had no doubt that he would be beautiful, but she had no illusions about her looks. She would look like nothing next to him. And on top of that concern she was also worried about the actual mating. She was a virgin after all and despite her modern day education on the act it would still be her first time and the fear of the unknown was very real.

As she took in the view of the land she took a deep calming breath and thought back on her leave taking of the village to distract herself from her nerves.

It had been easy enough to round up Rin and Shippo and explain the situation as Sesshomaru provided her cabin extra protection. They were happy and Rin was especially happy to be returning permanently to what she considered her home.

The three of them had then gone looking for Keade, Miroku, and Sango. Thankfully they were all together outside Sango and Miroku's large hut, their children included.

* * *

 _"Hey guys!" Kagome called out with a slight wave. "Can I talk to you inside?" She asked as she reached them. They easily agreed and she ushered Rin and Shippo in after them, and settled down next to the adults._

 _"Rin, Shippo, and are leaving the village." She announced with bright eyes. "It's time for me to start my life with Sesshomaru." She explained. Keade and Miroku nodded but Sango was surprised._

 _"You're leaving?! You're not going to live here, in the village, with Rin and Shippo?" Sango asked._

 _"No. Of course not." Kagome said with a slight frown. "I'm going to live with Sesshomaru, and Rin and Shippo are coming as well. Sesshomaru's home is Rin's home and it's past time she returned there. She and Shippo are best friends and beyond that, he goes where I go, so there's no reason at all to separate them."_

 _"But you haven't even been back long, and now you're leaving!" Sango exclaimed with huff, and Miroku put his arm around her to comfort her._

 _Kagome sighed lightly. "I'm mating Sesshomaru. It's expected that I go live with him. You live with Miroku." She said as she gestured toward the couple and around the hut that surrounded them. Sango nodded._

 _"I just always imagined us all living in the same place." She said with a solemn sigh._

 _"You can't expect Sesshomaru to live in the village. He's a Lord and needs to live in his family home." Kagome said with a frown, and Sango blinked and started a bit._

 _"That wasn't what I was thinking at all. I meant..." She started to say, but cut herself off; thinking better of it._

 _But Kagome knew exactly what she had meant; had known from the moment Sango said she had imagined them all living in the same place. Sango had been thinking of her and Inuyasha living in the village with her and Miroku._

 _It was just as Kagome had thought before, about them wanting her to live the life they all had imagined back during the shard hunt. Miroku had backed off on that, but it was obvious now that Sango hadn't._

 _Kagome glanced around and saw that Shippo and Rin were distracting the little girls. Once she was sure they too were distracted she looked back to Sango._

 _"I know what you meant. You meant me and Inuyasha living in the village with you and Miroku." She said. "Inuyasha isn't around anymore and even if he was that would've never happened. I_ chose _Sesshomaru and I would still be going to live with him. I love him, and with him is where I belong."_

 _Sango huffed and looked away from Kagome and everyone else._

 _"I hope you aren't wrong about your feelings and making a mistake." She said and before anyone could react she adjusted her hold on her baby, stood up, and left the hut._

 _"I'm sorry about that." Miroku said to Keade and Kagome with a sigh._

 _"She is simply having a difficult time putting away the dream ye all had back during the hunt for the sacred jewel shards." Keade said._

 _"I understand but that doesn't mean I have to accept her behavior." Kagome said. "She needs to let go of that fantasy. It's as if she believed I would be with Inuyasha just because I returned to this time, and therefore her dream would come true."_

 _"Is that not true?" Keade asked. "I assumed that only the Western Lord's desire to court ye had changed that outcome."_

 _"No." Kagome answered as she shook her head. "But it's not surprising that you'd think so. Even Inuyasha thought so. I didn't return to this time for him. I returned because I feel more comfortable here then in the future."_

 _She felt Sesshomaru's youki flare and knew it was time to go._

 _"It's time to go." She said as she shifted to get to her feet. "Rin! Shippo!" She called as she stood, waving them over._

 _"I'll come visit." Kagome said with a smile. "My home here isn't going anywhere after all, and maybe by then Sango will see things differently."_

* * *

She recalled how they had agreed with her and that after a round of goodbyes, which Sango had missed since she had disappeared into the village, Miroku had quietly told her that he had believed she would be with Inuyasha as well and they would all raise their families together.

He went on to say that it was only after she had told them of her choice of Sesshomaru, and seeing Inuyasha's behavior toward her, that he had given it up, and realized that she was happy with Sesshomaru's attention. Miroku trusted her to know her heart and mind, and thought Sango just needed more time.

Kagome didn't know if time would help Sango, and she wasn't going to worry about it. She didn't need Sango to be happy for her or to approve of her relationship to be happy in her life. She had her family for that. Her best friend and soon to be mate, and Shippo and Rin.

Sesshomaru looked down at Kagome. She had been quiet for the entire trip, but her scent had been a wealth of information. She was thoughtful, nervous, excited, and worried.

He supposed it wasn't surprising considering what they would soon be doing. She may be knowledgeable about sexual intimacy having been raised in the future, but it would still be a new experience.

He had done his best to show her there was nothing to fear and it was something to enjoy, and though he believed he succeeded she was still bound to be highly nervous. He would have to thoroughly relax and distract her so she wouldn't have time to think about what was happening.

He on the other hand wasn't nervous at all. He and his beast were excited! They were finally going to become one with her; they were going to tie their lives together. She would finally be safe; she would _live_. She would be able to do all things she wanted to do. Do things she hadn't even _thought_ to do because she would have time to think, to do, to live.

Sesshomaru blinked out of his thoughts as they flew over a large dense forest. He adjusted his path and began to head for the center of the forest. After he reached the center he eased down, flying low over the trees until he reached the barrier he had set up earlier. He passed through it easily and landed in the spacious area next to the hot spring. He released Kagome and watched as she stepped forward and began to look around.

Kagome's head swiveled as she looked around at the place Sesshomaru had taken her. It would be an outright lie to say she hadn't sensed and felt the barrier that was around the area. She didn't worry since it felt like Sesshomaru so he obviously put it there.

It had been three years since she had come across a hot spring during travel, but she still knew that the hot spring before her wasn't one she had visited before. It wasn't surprising since their group had stayed away from the west, both on Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's account, and judging from the look of the place no one came to this particular spring often if at all.

That reassured her that they would have privacy since she assumed since he brought her to that particular spot, contained within a strong barrier, that it would be the location of their mating.

The area was nice. There were thick, tall trees circling the heated pool keeping in the heat and making the air pleasantly warm. _Is his barrier helping to keep in the heat?_ She wondered.

Still, as nice as it was she noticed that there was nothing there at all besides what nature had provided. No cushions, covers, or any kind of makeshift bedding. Were they going to be mating on the grass or in the spring? She turned to Sesshomaru and looked at him curiously as she held her hands in front of her.

"I am sorry we are mating outside." Sesshomaru said as he began to remove his armor. "You deserve better than that, but it is necessary to be in contact with nature."

"In taking a mate, and making that connection, I will also be connecting with the western land. The connection with the land will allow me to better protect it and my family, and it will reassure the land that my family line will continue and therefore its protection will continue." He explained.

"What will come with the connection to the land?" Kagome asked, surprised at the revelation.

"It will allow me to feel the whole of the western lands and be able to tell when there is a problem, either with enemy forces invading or with the land itself, and it will provide me with more power to draw on when I need it. But more importantly the connection will help me keep the land from becoming what it did in the future." He explained, and she nodded her understanding.

"How is the land supposed to know of our mating?" She asked.

"It will feel our bond through me since both connections will happen at the same time." He answered.

Kagome nodded again as he placed his swords off to the side next to his armor.

"Has any other lord not made the connection?" Kagome asked as she removed her sword, the only weapon she had brought, and placed it next to his. "I mean since you didn't make it the first time around I was wondering."

"No." He answered. "As far as I know I was the first. Other lords have taken a mate just to make that connection, including my father, but I refused to take a mate for that reason alone."

"Is the connection common knowledge?" She asked curiously.

"It is passed down from lord to heir. The Lady of the West is also told in case something should happen to the lord before the knowledge is passed on." Sesshomaru said.

"What if the lady is untrustworthy? Wouldn't that be dangerous?" She asked.

"It would be yes, which is why the lady is always thoroughly vetted first." He answered and she nodded.

"I understand and I don't at all mind our mating being outside, especially if it will help protect the land." Kagome said with a smile.

Sesshomaru smiled, pleased that she was so understanding. Already she was acting as the Lady of the West. He removed his fur from his shoulder and curled it up on the grass, watching as it expanded to accommodate both of them. He knelt next to it and gestured for her to take a seat on the fur bed.

Sesshomaru was excited and wasn't nervous, but he was a little bit hesitant. He had had lovers but had not had one since before the jewel shards spread across the land and Naraku made a nuisance of himself. That was well over five hundred years ago.

After the spider half-breed had been defeated he had been too busy with ruling his land to care about such things. Then Kagome returned three years later and became his Chosen. He was loyal like the dog demon he was and hadn't touched a female since.

He remained untouched just as she had, and after her death his libido disappeared altogether. He had realized it a few years later and the only notice he gave it was a brief acknowledgement of the fact and then a dismissal as unimportant.

Even meeting her in the future hadn't returned his sex drive. He had been slightly surprised at that, but realized it was because he knew she would leave. Not to mention if it had been there she had still held affection for the half-breed and wouldn't have looked at him in that manner.

When he had been returned to the past and began courting her his libido had returned with a vengeance, as if his body knew he could now attain what he wanted. Since then he had brought her pleasure and gotten her used to his touch. He had in turn experienced her kiss and touch. He couldn't wait for more. He had wanted this for so long, wanted _her_ for so long.

Kagome sat on the fur and removed her sandals before putting them aside and moving further onto the fur. She sighed in pleasure at the feel of the soft fur beneath her feet and hands. She looked to Sesshomaru shyly, realizing she was a step closer to being mated, and wondered how they would get started.

Sesshomaru removed his boots and put them off to the side before he loosened his hoari and slid it off and tossed it toward his boots. In nothing but his hakama he crawled onto his fur and moved onto her body, catching her lips with his and easing her back onto the fur, following her down and pressing his weight on her.

He felt her hands rest on his waist as if she was too nervous to move them higher or lower. It was understandable. He had introduced her to pleasure, but they both knew this time he wouldn't be using his hand to bring her to the pinnacle but his body instead. That would change when she stopped thinking and started feeling. Even if he had to tell her that in so many words.

Kagome hummed as they kissed. He caressed her face and stroked her sides as their tongues moved sensually together. Her hands moved up and down his warm sides and around his back, stroking his skin.

Suddenly he broke the kiss and sat up, straddling her legs, and began to untie her black obi. He pulled the sash away and she blushed and looked away as he parted her kimono and revealed her black makeshift bra and panties. He leaned down and moved his nose along her neck before he nuzzled his cheek against hers.

"You are beautiful." He told her, his voice ghosting against her ear. "Black looks good on you." He added, his voice dropping in timbre.

Kagome smiled and he once again brought his lips to hers.

Sesshomaru enjoyed his Chosen's unique taste and the feel of her tongue against his as he helped her out of her kimono. He tossed it aside and once again covered her body with his without breaking their kiss. This time he felt her hands moving all over him, everywhere she could reach, her legs sliding and curling around his.

He broke the kiss and moved his lips to her neck, worshiping the length before he moved his lips down, running his tongue along her collarbones before venturing further down. He kissed around her breasts, dragging his tongue over her pert nipples, before wrapping his mouth around one to suckle like a newborn pup.

When he was satisfied with the attention he showed the orb he switched to lavish attention on the other, suckling and swirling his tongue around as her hands held his head to her.

He moved on, moving down the soft skin of her stomach to her navel to taste her belly button, then continued further as he stroked her hips. His lips caressed her inner thighs, ignoring how her hips lifted in a silent guide to where she wanted him. He kissed and licked his way down her right leg before making his way back up her body along her left leg. Once he reached the top of her thigh he ducked his head between her thighs and swiped his tongue up her heated moist center.

Kagome jerked in surprise at the feel of Sesshomaru's slightly rough heated tongue on her, moving in a way that was more fluid than his fingers had ever felt. He lapped at her like she was ice cream melting from a cone.

She opened her legs a little and watched as, without looking, he spread her legs further to his liking. His large hands gripped her thighs firmly and held her legs back out of the way.

She moaned lightly as his tongue moved up and swirled around her pleasure button before closing his lips around it and suckling. She cried out as sharp jolts of pleasure shot through her, and tried to move her hips to help it along but was prevented by the firm hold he had on her legs.

His tongue drifted back down to her opening and she twirled her fingers in his hair as he dipped inside her, her inner muscles clenching automatically at the intrusion as he tasted her and stimulated her at the same time.

Sesshomaru grinned internally, his eyes bleeding red as his beast decided to come forward now instead of waiting until later, enjoying the way she tasted and the delicious sounds she was making.

He gave her one last long firm swipe of his tongue before he released her legs and slid his hands along her skin as he moved up her body. He brought his lips to hers in a fierce kiss, forcing her to taste herself.

He leaned one forearm on the fur at her side and stroked her thigh with his free hand, enjoying feeling the delicate muscle flex beneath his fingers, before he shifted his weight and slipped his hand between her thighs. He stroked her heated center, moving firmly until his fingers were coated in her essence, and eased a long finger through her opening and moved it back and forth until her hips began to rock.

He carefully added another and continued to stroke her sensitive inner walls before he used a claw to puncture her barrier. He distracted her with his tongue and gradually widened the puncture with his fingers until she was fully open to him.

Kagome hummed lightly, her mind becoming foggy at the pleasure she was feeling. Heat was quickly flooding her center core and spreading throughout her body. She spread the leg that wasn't trapped beneath him and continued to rock her hips in time with his thrusting fingers hoping to increase her pleasure.

She couldn't believe what Sesshomaru was doing. He had never put his fingers inside her before and she had never expected him to. Mostly because she thought it would hurt with his claws, but that wasn't happening at all. He was obviously being careful because she couldn't feel his claws. All she could feel was his fingers and the pleasure they were creating.

She clung to his shoulder with one hand and buried the fingers of her other in his silky hair as his tongue moved against hers, keeping him where he was, not wanting him to move away even a little. She just wanted the pleasure to go on and on and on.

And that's what she got to her satisfaction. Her body grew taut and her grip on him tightened as her leg snapped closed against his side, her inner walls rippling around his fingers as she moaned into his mouth. She could barely breath but she refused to pull her lips away from his, refused to part from the heat of his mouth, from the texture of his tongue, the bite of his fangs.

Sesshomaru continued to move his hand until her inner muscles stopped clinging to his fingers then removed them as he pulled away from her lips, easily breaking the hold she had on him. He sat up and looked down on her, enjoying her beauty and the glow of passion around her. He wanted that glow to stay with her and decided it was time to move things along.

He stood and stripped off his hakama before he covered her body, groaning at finally being able to feel every last inch of her skin with his own. He brought his lips back to hers and shifted between her legs before he began to rub himself against her. Normally such an action would be compared to an inexperienced teen, but he was more than old enough to know that the action was a teasing pleasure that helped arouse and heighten the senses.

He moved his lips to kiss along her cheek down to her neck before repeating the action on the other side, his hips moving sensually against hers, coating himself in her scent.

Kagome tilted her head back and stretched her neck, wanting the sensation of his lips to continue, as her hands stroked up and down his sides. She arched against him, pressing up against his chest, and lifted her hips into his movements.

She wanted more. She still felt pleasure, but her pleasure high was waning, and she wanted it back. She wanted to feel him inside her, wanted to finally experience that sensation, wanted to feel what would happen when their lives were linked together.

Sesshomaru growled lightly against Kagome's neck, understanding her body's movements for what they were, and shifted his hips until he was pressed against her opening. He brought a hand up to grip her neck and brought his lips to hers in a passionate kiss as he pushed inside her.

His progress was smooth and easy, having already taken care of her barrier, and he proceeded to move back and forth inside her, stroking her into a frenzy until she was grasping at him and lifting her knees and wrapping her legs around him.

Normally he would flip her over and take her from behind like the dog he was, but he and his beast weren't interested. They wanted to be face to face with her, watching her expressions as they crossed her face. They wanted to be hip to hip, feel her breasts pressed against his chest, and relish in the sensation of her arms and legs wrapped around him.

He lifted his head and watched her face, his eyes easily picking up the flush spreading from her cheeks, her eyelids fluttering, and her tongue peeking out to briefly slide around and moist her lips.

"Kagome." He called huskily and watched her eyes flutter open.

Kagome looked up into blood red eyes, unable to look away as he pressed his forehead against hers. His beast was obviously present and very involved, but she didn't care. She loved all of him.

Their breaths mingled as they panted, and she trembled as pleasure forked through her body as if it were passing along her veins. Her eyes narrowed in pleasure as he made love to her, moaning as he released a deep rumble that she felt all over her body.

As the Western Lord moved within his Chosen his youki began to rise causing his body to glow red. The demonic power brought out Kagome's spiritual power and caused her body to glow blue with her reiki.

He brought his lips to hers and weaved his youki through her reiki and inside her, wrapping himself around her entire being, and tying them together. Intertwining their lifelines so hers matched his. With the all-important connection accomplished his hips sped up, pushing their pleasure higher, and he swallowed her cries of pleasure as his own release took him over.

The resulting releases caused their powers to flow from their bodies; first Sesshomaru's red and then Kagome's blue, building and filling the air inside the barrier, mixing together and turning a bright yellow, before sinking into the ground.

A deep pulse spread out from their position throughout the west, again and again like echoes, as the power continued to flow into the ground. Unnoticed to the pair the grass began to glow, the hot spring's natural light brightened, and flowers opened and bloomed as the yellow energy saturated the area.

 **~oOoMGoOo~**

The Lord and new Lady of the West easily settled into mated life.

After their mating they slept deeply curled around each other, and the next morning noticed that Kagome's mating mark was a magenta crescent moon on her forehead to match her Lord. Beyond that Sesshomaru realized that his mate had participated in making his connection to the land. He could feel the land clearly, as if he was a part of it, and could tell that the result of her added power made the land purer and healthy.

As the days and weeks passed word spread of their mating and they received many congratulation gifts and letters. Others decided to come in person to give their congratulations including the wolf prince Kouga.

He arrived for a visit as soon as was reasonable with his mate Ayame. He related that he hadn't even known Kagome had returned until he learned the news of her mating, and that he was glad she was happy.

Once that was out of the way they began to catch up and he asked what happened to Inuyasha. He was glad that she hadn't ended up with dog-breath, but he still thought he would be around in some form or fashion.

Kagome informed Kouga, to his great surprise, that Inuyasha was dead, killed by her mate when they were courting. Kouga was shocked, shocked that Inuyasha was dead _and_ that she allowed it to happen, but she explained that he had become dangerous to her. He kept referring to her as Kikyou and was angry that she had chosen Sesshomaru over him.

 _"My mate is very protective of me, and will not allow any danger to remain." She told him calmly._

Kagome didn't forget her friends in Edo once she was mated. She wrote and visited, but it soon became clear that Sango wasn't interested in remaining friends. She barely wrote back and was quiet when Kagome visited. Soon after that she wasn't even present during her visits.

Kagome and Miroku theorized that she was upset over her dream life not happening, that Kagome and Inuyasha hadn't happened and gotten together like they were supposed to. For whatever reason she couldn't seem to get passed it as if it was affecting her life in some way.

Still, Kagome didn't let Sango's behavior stop her from writing or visiting, and she usually brought Shippo and Rin with her so they could visit everyone they knew in the village.

Thankfully, Miroku didn't let Sango's attitude stop him from keeping in touch, and he continued to write and visited with Keade, then by himself when Keade passed. Sango refused to go visit and wouldn't allow their children to come. As a result Miroku and Kagome became closer friends, like siblings.

Miroku had even informed Kagome that Sango tried to influence their children to not like her, but he always put a stop to it and cautioned his children to wait and get all the facts before coming to a decision.

Sesshomaru was very much enjoying mated life. He was very happy with life and extremely proud of his mate, his Chosen. To his great satisfaction and pleasure she was happy, healthy, and content as his mate and Lady of the West. She surprisingly took to ruling like she was made for the role. She had earned the respect of the entire west, being fair and forgiving yet forceful and deadly when necessary.

Just as he thought before when her life had been taken, Kagome was able to make many friends easily, she was able to heal many, became a skilled fighter, a great ruler, and a wonderful mother. Rin and Shippo grew older and mature under her guidance, and they began to court and eventually mated. And when they were settled in their life he and his Chosen added pups to their pack.

Kagome's influence helped the western lands become known for being very nature friendly and welcoming of demons, half demons, and humans that accepted the other two.

To ensure this Sesshomaru and Kagome made sure to monitor the lands to make sure nothing harmful entered and tainted the land. When Sesshomaru patrolled the lands Kagome accompanied him and subtly used her powers to make sure all the humans there were really accepting of the demons and half demons around them and not pretending.

Of course they also made sure the demons residing there were accepting of half demons and the humans that reside in the lands. They were not going to discriminate against anyone. When they found those people they had them uprooted and escorted out of the West regardless of the excuses that came pouring from their lips.

Their lands would be peaceful and accepting. Just as the Lord and Lady were.


End file.
